Wearable device for medication adherence monitoring

ABSTRACT

A monitoring system for obtaining a video related to medication adherence of a user, includes: a wireless communication device comprising a motion sensor, an ambient light sensor, a first transceiver transmitting data to an external device, and a first controller configured to control the motion sensor, the ambient light sensor, and the first transceiver, the wireless communication device having an attaching portion for being attached to an object containing a medication; and a wearable device including a camera, a second transceiver receiving a signal from the first transceiver, and a second controller configured to obtain video data through the camera based on the signal received through the second transceiver.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/358,116 filed on Jun. 25, 2021 under 35 U.S.C. §120, which claims priority to and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2020-0103633, filed on Aug. 19, 2020, Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2020-0146394, filed on Nov. 4, 2020, and KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2021-0039621, filed on Mar. 26, 2021, thedisclosure of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a medication adherence monitoringsystem and a device using the same, and more particularly, to a systemfor confirming whether a user performs medication adherence or uses adevice related to the medication adherence.

Discussion of Related Art

Healthcare based on medical treatment and medical science has beenreceiving constant attention from the past, and as the life expectancyhas increased with the recent development of medical technology,interest in healthcare has been further increased. Such healthcareshould be performed regularly by the user himself or herself in dailylife, such as taking prescribed medications in daily life, periodicallyinjecting medications into his or her body, or measuring healthindicators using medical devices.

In order to improve effects of the above-described healthcare, it isnecessary to induce the user's actions related to the healthcare orimpart coercion. To this end, there is a need for a monitoring systemthat detects a user's motion related to healthcare in daily life anddetermines whether the healthcare is sufficiently performed.

Meanwhile, in the past, in monitoring user's actions related to thehealthcare, the user's actions are required, such as an action ofdriving a monitoring device before medication adherence or an action ofrecording his or her own actions. Accordingly, when the user forgets hisor her own actions, there is a problem in that information about thehealthcare is not collected.

Therefore, in consideration of the user's convenience and the accuracyof healthcare, it is necessary to develop a system that automaticallymonitors actions related to healthcare in daily life without user'sactions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to providing a monitoring system thatautomatically monitors a user's motion related to healthcare in dailylives.

The present invention is also directed to providing a monitoring systemthat, when a user performs medication adherence, detects the user′motion, captures an image or video related to the medication adherenceof the user, analyzes the captured image or captured video, anddetermines whether the user performs the medication adherence.

The present invention is also directed to providing a wirelesscommunication device that detects a user's action and generates a signalfor the initiation of shooting a video related to medication adherenceof the user.

The present invention is also directed to providing a wearable devicethat may be worn on at least a portion of a user's body and captures animage related to medication adherence of the user when receiving asignal for the start of image capturing.

The present invention is also directed to providing a wearable devicethat is properly designed to have a field of view which can includeinteresting objects, such as a palm, a mouth, or a medicine etc., whenbeing worn by the user while the user takes medication.

Objects to be solved by the present invention are not limited to theabove-described objects and other unmentioned objects may be clearlyunderstood by those skilled in the art from this specification and theaccompanying drawings.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there can beprovided a monitoring system for obtaining a video related to medicationadherence of a user, the monitoring system comprising: a wirelesscommunication device comprising a motion sensor, an ambient lightsensor, a first transceiver transmitting data to an external device, anda first controller configured to control the motion sensor, the ambientlight sensor, and the first transceiver, the wireless communicationdevice having an attaching portion for being attached to an objectcontaining a medication; a wearable device comprising a camera, a secondtransceiver receiving a signal from the first transceiver, and a secondcontroller configured to obtain video data through the camera based onthe signal received through the second transceiver; wherein the firstcontroller of the wireless communication device is configured to:obtain, by using the motion sensor, a motion value corresponding to amovement of the object, obtain, by using the ambient light sensor, anambient light value corresponding to ambient light of the object,generate activation data for inducing activation of the camera of thewearable device, based on the motion value and the ambient light value,and provide, by using the first transceiver, the activation data to thewearable device, and wherein the second controller of the wearabledevice obtains the video data by activating the camera based on thereceived activation data generated from the wireless communicationdevice based on the movement and the ambient light of the object.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there can beprovided the wireless communication device configured to transmit datato an external device for inducing the external device including acamera to initiate taking a video, the wireless communication devicecomprising: a transceiver; a motion sensor; an ambient light sensor; acontroller; a housing having an inner space where the transceiver, themotion sensor, the ambient light sensor, and the controller are placed;and an attachment region implemented outside of the housing, thewireless communication device configured to attach to an objectcontaining medication through the attachment region; wherein acontroller is configured to: transmit the data to the external devicethrough the transceiver; obtain a motion value reflecting a movement ofthe object by using the motion sensor, obtain an ambient light valuereflecting an ambient environment of the object by using the ambientlight sensor, and provide activation data based on the motion value andthe ambient light value, the activation data indicating the camera ofthe external device to be activated, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to: determine whether the ambient light value is equal to orgreater than an ambient light threshold value when the motion value isequal to or greater than a motion threshold value, and generate theactivation data and provide the activation data to the external devicewhen the ambient light value is equal to or greater than the ambientlight threshold value, and wherein the controller does not generate theactivation data when the ambient light value is less than the ambientlight threshold value even though the motion value is equal to orgreater than the motion threshold value.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, the user'shealthcare is automatically monitored to minimize user intervention, andthus user convenience can be improved.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, by providing awearable device, which is worn on a user's body and captures an imagerelated to medication adherence of the user, the user's healthcare canbe easily monitored in daily life, and thus usability of the wearabledevice can be increased.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, by providing awireless communication device that detects a user′ motion to generate asignal for capturing an image related to medication adherence of theuser, the medication adherence of the user can be monitored moreaccurately and regularly.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, by analyzing avideo related to medication adherence using an artificial neuralnetwork, the accuracy of determining whether the medication adherence isperformed can be improved.

Effects of the present invention are not limited to the above-describedeffects and other unmentioned effects may be clearly understood by thoseskilled in the art from this specification and the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in theart by describing exemplary embodiments thereof in detail with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a medication adherence monitoringsystem according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a wireless communication deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a wearable device according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a server according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an operation process of a medicationadherence monitoring system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a communication process between awireless communication device and a wearable device according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are diagrams illustrating data packets transmitted by awireless communication device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a method of generating activation datain a wireless communication device according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are diagrams illustrating states of a wirelesscommunication device and environments around the wireless communicationdevice, which are detected by a sensor unit of a wireless communicationdevice.

FIGS. 12 to 14 are diagrams illustrating processes of transmitting orreceiving data in a medication adherence monitoring system according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an operating state of a wirelesscommunication device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a method of transmitting data to awearable device by a wireless communication device according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 17 and 18 are diagrams illustrating an operation process of awearable device in a medication adherence monitoring system according toan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a process of activating a cameramodule using signal strength in a wearable device according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating signal strength according to adistance between a wireless communication device and a wearable deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating the strength of a signal received by awearable device according to a place where a wireless communicationdevice according to an embodiment of the present invention is located.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an operation process of a serveraccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a process of analyzing video data in aserver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 24 and 25 are diagrams illustrating operation processes performedby a wearable device when a user moves an object while shooting a videoaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 26 to 28 are diagrams illustrating a method of processing andanalyzing video data in a server when a user moves an object whileshooting a video according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an operation process performed by awearable device when a user moves an object while shooting a video in acase in which the user adheres to different medications according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating user's health management actionsaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating an operation process of a wearabledevice in a health management system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating an object and a wireless communicationdevice attached to the object according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a wirelesscommunication device according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 34 is a diagram illustrating a configuration and structure of awearable device of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating a field of view of a camera moduleaccording to a slope of the camera module according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating a method of preventing side effectsusing a medication adherence monitoring system according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 37 to 39 are diagrams illustrating medication adherence managingtools according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 40 to 44 are diagrams illustrating a management service providedto medical personnel, a guardian, or a manager according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 45 is a diagram illustrating a management service provided to auser according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will becomemore apparent from the following detailed description related to theaccompanying drawings. However, while the present invention may havevarious modifications and alternative forms, specific embodimentsthereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will bedescribed herein in detail.

In the drawings, the thicknesses of layers or regions are exaggeratedfor clarity of description. Further, when an element or layer isreferred to as being disposed “on” another element or layer, it includesa case in which the element or layer is formed directly on anotherelement or layer and a case in which still another element or layer isinterposed between the element or layer and another element. Likereference numerals principally refer to like elements throughout thespecification. Further, elements having the same function within thescope of the same concept shown in the drawings of each embodiment willbe described using the same reference numerals, and redundantdescriptions thereof will be omitted.

When it is determined that detailed descriptions of well-known functionsor configurations related to the present invention may unnecessarilyobscure the gist of the present invention, detailed descriptions thereofwill be omitted. Further, the numbers (for example, first, and second)used in description of the specification are used only to distinguishone element from another element.

Further, a suffix “module,” “unit,” or “portion” of an element used inthe following embodiments is assigned or incorporated for convenience ofspecification description, and the suffix itself does not have adistinguished meaning or function.

In the following embodiments, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the contextclearly indicates otherwise.

In the following embodiments, it will be further understood that theterms “comprise” and/or “comprising” used herein specify the presence ofstated features or elements but do not preclude the presence or additionof one or more other features or elements.

In the following embodiments, the terms “at least one of A and B” or “atleast one of A or B” could be understood as “A, B or a combination of Aand B”. In other words, the terms might indicate “one selected among A,B and A&B”.

Sizes of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for convenience ofdescription. In other words, since sizes and thicknesses of elements inthe drawings are arbitrarily illustrated for convenience of description,the present invention is not limited thereto.

When a certain embodiment may be implemented differently, a specificprocess order may be performed differently from the described order. Forexample, two consecutively described processes may be performedsubstantially at the same time or performed in an order opposite to thedescribed order.

In the following embodiments, when a film, region, or element isreferred to as being “connected to” another film, region, or element,the film, region, or element may be directly connected to another film,region, or component or may be indirectly connected to another film,region, or component with still another film, region, or elementinterposed therebetween.

For example, in this specification, when a film, region, or element isreferred to as being “electrically connected to” another film, region,or component, the film, region, or element may be directly electricallyconnected to another film, region, or component or may be indirectlyelectrically connected to another film, region, or component with stillanother film, region, or element interposed therebetween.

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, there can beprovided a monitoring system for obtaining a video related to medicationadherence of a user, the monitoring system comprising: a wirelesscommunication device comprising a motion sensor, an ambient lightsensor, a first transceiver transmitting data to an external device, anda first controller configured to control the motion sensor, the ambientlight sensor, and the first transceiver, the wireless communicationdevice having an attaching portion for being attached to an objectcontaining a medication; a wearable device comprising a camera, a secondtransceiver receiving a signal from the first transceiver, and a secondcontroller configured to obtain video data through the camera based onthe signal received through the second transceiver; wherein the firstcontroller of the wireless communication device is configured to:obtain, by using the motion sensor, a motion value corresponding to amovement of the object, obtain, by using the ambient light sensor, anambient light value corresponding to ambient light of the object,generate activation data for inducing activation of the camera of thewearable device, based on the motion value and the ambient light value,and provide, by using the first transceiver, the activation data to thewearable device, and wherein the second controller of the wearabledevice obtains the video data by activating the camera based on thereceived activation data generated from the wireless communicationdevice based on the movement and the ambient light of the object.

In some embodiments, the wearable device initiates a pairing processwhen receiving an advertising signal from the wireless communicationdevice.

In some embodiments, the wearable device and the wireless communicationdevice are paired as they share link data; and the first controllerprovides the activation data to the second controller after the wearabledevice and the wireless communication device are paired.

In some embodiments, the wireless communication device is configured tooperate in a sleep state or a standby state, the first controller doesnot obtain a sensor value from the motion sensor and the ambient sensorin the sleep state and the first controller obtains the sensor valuefrom at least one of the motion sensor or the ambient light sensor inthe standby state, and the wireless communication device operates fromthe sleep state to the standby state when being paired with the wearabledevice.

In some embodiments, the first controller obtains the motion value byusing the motion sensor in the standby state.

In some embodiments, the wireless communication device operates in thesleep state, the standby state, or the awake state, the firstcontroller, in the awake state, generates the activation data andprovides the activation data to the second controller when the ambientlight value obtained by the ambient light sensor is equal to or greaterthan an ambient light threshold value, and the first controller controlsthe wireless communication device to operate in the awake state when thefirst controller determines that the motion value obtained in thestandby state is equal to or greater than a motion threshold value.

In some embodiments, the wireless communication device is configured tooperate in a sleep state or a standby state, wherein the motion sensorobtains the motion value per a first time gap in the sleep state, andwherein the motion sensor obtains the motion value per a second timegap, which is shorter than the first time gap, in the standby state.

In some embodiments, the wireless communication device is configured tooperate in a sleep state or a standby state, wherein the ambient lightsensor obtains the ambient light value per a first time gap in the sleepstate, and wherein the ambient light sensor obtains the ambient lightvalue per a second time gap, which is shorter than the first time gap,in the standby state.

In some embodiments, the first controller generates the activation datawhen the motion value obtained by using the motion sensor is equal to orgreater than a predetermined motion threshold value and the ambientlight value obtained by using the ambient light sensor is equal to orgreater than a predetermined ambient light threshold value.

In some embodiments, the activation data is included in an advertisingsignal that the wireless communication device transmits to the wearabledevice.

In some embodiments, the first controller provides unique identificationdata of the wireless communication device to the second controller,wherein an imaging time is set based on the unique identification dataof the wireless communication device, and wherein the second controlleractivates the camera based on the activation data to take a video for animaging time.

In some embodiments, a signal that the second controller receives fromthe first transceiver includes a first signal received before a firsttime point when the wireless communication device and the wearabledevice are paired and a second signal received after the first timepoint, and the second controller obtains the activation data from thesecond signal.

In some embodiments, the second controller obtains the uniqueidentification data from the second signal.

In some embodiments, the monitoring system further comprises a serverobtaining the video data from the wearable device and determiningwhether the user has taken medication by using the video data.

In some embodiments, the wearable device activates the camera for animaging time and transmits the video data to the server after apredetermined waiting time from when the camera is deactivated.

In some embodiments, the wearable device takes a video for apredetermined imaging time when obtaining a first activation data fromthe wireless communication device, wherein the wearable device furthertakes a video for an extra time when obtaining a second activation datafrom the wireless communication device during the imaging time, andwherein the extra time is shorter than the imaging time.

In some embodiments, the wearable device includes an output module andprovides an alarm to the user through the output module while the videodata is obtained as the camera being activated.

In some embodiments, the server determines whether the user has takenmedication by using a medication monitoring model trained as outputtingdata related to whether the user has taken medication when the videodata is inputted.

In some embodiments, the medication monitoring model includes: adetection model receiving image frames of the video data as input andoutputting a probability value indicating whether the object related tothe medication adherence is included in the video data, and aconfirmation model receiving input data reflecting the probability valueand outputting a class value indicating whether the user has taken themedication.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there can beprovided the wireless communication device configured to transmit datato an external device for inducing the external device including acamera to initiate taking a video, the wireless communication devicecomprising: a transceiver; a motion sensor; an ambient light sensor; acontroller; a housing having an inner space where the transceiver, themotion sensor, the ambient light sensor, and the controller are placed;and an attachment region implemented outside of the housing, thewireless communication device configured to attach to an objectcontaining medication through the attachment region; wherein acontroller is configured to: transmit the data to the external devicethrough the transceiver; obtain a motion value reflecting a movement ofthe object by using the motion sensor, obtain an ambient light valuereflecting an ambient environment of the object by using the ambientlight sensor, and provide activation data based on the motion value andthe ambient light value, the activation data indicating the camera ofthe external device to be activated, wherein the controller is furtherconfigured to: determine whether the ambient light value is equal to orgreater than an ambient light threshold value when the motion value isequal to or greater than a motion threshold value, and generate theactivation data and provide the activation data to the external devicewhen the ambient light value is equal to or greater than the ambientlight threshold value, and wherein the controller does not generate theactivation data when the ambient light value is less than the ambientlight threshold value even though the motion value is equal to orgreater than the motion threshold value.

In some embodiments, the controller and the motion sensor communicate ina full duplex manner, and the controller and the ambient light sensorcommunicate in a half duplex manner.

In some embodiments, the wireless communication device furthercomprises: a light sensing region for the ambient light sensor receivinglight, the light sensing region not being overlapped with the attachmentregion.

In some embodiments, the housing has a shape of cylinder, wherein theattachment region is located on a lower surface of the housing while thelight sensing region is located on an upper surface of the housing.

According to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, therecan be provided, a wearable device for obtaining a video related tomedication adherence of a user, the wearable device comprising: acamera; a transceiver; and a controller configured to control the cameraand the transceiver; wherein the controller is configured to: receiveactivation data for inducing activation of the camera from an externaldevice, obtain a RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) value of asignal received from the external device, the RSSI value reflecting atleast surrounding environment of the wearable device and a distancebetween the wearable device and the external device, obtain video datarelated to the medication adherence of the user by activating the camerabased on the activation data and the RSSI value, wherein the controllerdoes not activate the camera when the RSSI value is out of apredetermined range of signal strength, even though the activation datais received.

In some embodiments, the controller is further configured to obtain adata packet including the activation data through the signal receivedfrom the external device.

In some embodiments, the signal includes a data packet signalcorresponding to the data packet including the activation data, and theRSSI value corresponds to signal strength of the data packet signal.

In some embodiments, the controller is further configured to obtain afirst RSSI value of a first signal received from the external device ata first time point and a second RSSI value of a second signal receivedfrom the external device at a second time point, and the controller doesnot activate the camera if the first RSSI value or the second RSSI valueis out of the predetermined range of signal strength.

In some embodiments, a time point at which the data packet signal isreceived is between the first time point and the second time point.

In some embodiments, the predetermined range of signal strength is above−100 dBm.

In some embodiments, the predetermined range of signal strength is above−80 dBm.

In some embodiments, the predetermined range of signal strength is abovea standard value, and the standard value is set between −120 dBm and −60dBm.

In some embodiments, the standard value is set between −100 dBm and −80dBm.

In some embodiments, the predetermined range of signal strength is abovea standard value, and the standard value is set based on signal strengthof a signal that the controller received from the external device when adistance between the wearable device and the external device is within apredetermined range of distance.

In some embodiments, the predetermined range of distance is within 100cm.

In some embodiments, the predetermined range of distance is within 70cm.

In some embodiments, the predetermined range of distance is within 20cm.

According to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, therecan be provided.

a monitoring system for obtaining a video related to medicationadherence of a user, the monitoring system comprising:

a wireless communication device including a motion sensor, a firsttransceiver, and a first controller transmitting data to external devicethrough the first transceiver; and

a wearable device including a camera, a second transceiver receiving asignal including data from the wireless communication device, and asecond controller configured to control the camera and the secondtransceiver;

wherein the first controller is configured to:

obtain activation data for instructing activation of the camera of thewearable device by using at least a motion value obtained through themotion sensor, the motion value reflecting a movement of the wirelesscommunication device, and

transmit the activation data to the wearable device through the secondtransceiver,

wherein the second controller is configured to:

activate the camera based on the activation data received from thewireless communication device,

determine whether signal strength of the signal received from thewireless communication device is within a predetermined range of signalstrength, and

activate the camera when the signal strength of the signal is within thepredetermined range of signal strength and not activate the camera whenthe signal strength of the signal is out of the predetermined range ofsignal strength.

According to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, therecan be provided a wearable device worn on a wrist of a user, thewearable device comprising: a main body having an inner space surroundedby at least a top side, a bottom side, a first side, a second side, athird side and a fourth side, the first side and the second side facingeach other, the third side and the fourth side facing each other,wherein the main body has a length defined by the first side and thesecond side, and a width defined by the third side and the fourth side;a first strap having a first end coupled to the first side of the mainbody and a second end including a first connection portion; a secondstrap having a third end coupled to the second side of the main body anda second connection portion for interacting with the first connectionportion of the first strap, wherein a length of the second strap isshorter than a length of the first strap; a camera module disposed onthe first strap; wherein the second strap further includes a fixingportion where at least part of the second connection portion isattachable such that the second strap does not cover the camera module,wherein a field of view of the camera module heading toward a directionalong the width of the main body and wherein a length between the cameramodule and the first end is longer than a length between the cameramodule and the first connection portion such that the field of viewincludes at least part of a palm of a user.

In some embodiments, the wearable device of further comprises a displayunit exposed through the top side, a controller disposed in the innerspace and configured to control the display unit output the information,and an electric connection line electrically connecting the controllerand the camera module.

In some embodiments, the electric connection line arranged between thecamera module and the first end of the first strap, the electricconnection line disposed inside the first strap such that the electricconnection line is hidden by the first strap.

In some embodiments, the wearable device further comprises a batterydisposed under the display unit, and a power supply line electricallyconnecting the camera module and the battery.

In some embodiments, the strap is composed of a top surface and a bottomsurface, and the camera module is installed inside the strap while alens of the camera module is positioned between the top surface and thebottom surface.

In some embodiments, the camera module further including a lens, whereinan optical axis of the lens has an acute angle respect to a surface ofthe first strap where the camera module is disposed.

In some embodiments, the angle between the optical axis and the surfaceof first strap is between 15 to 75 degrees.

In some embodiments, the angle between the optical axis and the surfaceof first strap is between 30 to 60 degrees.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a wearable deviceworn on a wrist of a user, the wearable device comprising: a main bodyhaving an inner space surrounded by at least a top side, a bottom side,a first side, a second side, a third side and a fourth side, the firstside and the second side facing each other, the third side and thefourth side facing each other; a first strap having a first end coupledto the first side of the main body, and a second end including a firstconnection portion; a second strap having a third end coupled to thesecond side of the main body, and a second connection portion forcoupling to the first connection portion of the first strap; a cameramodule disposed on a top surface of the first strap having a longerlength than the second strap; wherein the first strap further includes afixing portion where at least part of the second connection portion iscoupled, wherein the fixing portion is disposed on a bottom surface ofthe first strap such that the second strap does not overlay the cameramodule, wherein a field of view of the camera module heading toward awidth direction of the main body when the main body has a length definedby the first side and the second side, and a width defined by the thirdside and the fourth side, and wherein a length between the camera moduleand the first end is longer than a length between the camera module andthe first connection portion such that the field of view includes atleast part of a palm of a user.

This specification relates to a medication adherence monitoring system,and more specifically, to a system and method, in which, when a userperforms medication adherence for the purpose of diagnosis, treatment,or prevention of disease, or health promotion, whether the user performsthe medication adherence is monitored, and a device used in the systemand method.

In this specification the term “medication” may refer to a substanceused for diagnosis, alleviation, treatment, action, or prevention ofdisease, or health promotion. The term “medication” may refer to achemical composition itself corresponding to a specific disease or mayrefer to a substance obtained by processing such a chemical composition.For example, the medication may be present in various formulations suchas a tablet form, a capsule form, a syrup form, or an applicable form.

The medication may be stored in a medication container. For example, themedication container may include a medication case, a medication bottle,a blister pack, an eyedropper, a portable medication case, a medicationbox, a medication bag, a medication calendar, a dispenser, or the like.Meanwhile, the medication may be stored in a medication delivery deviceaccording to usage thereof. For example, the medication delivery devicemay include an inhaler, a spray, a syringe, a patch, or the like. Asdescribed above, the medication container may refer to not only anobject having a predetermined volume to accommodate a medication, butalso an object including at least a portion capable of accommodating themedication.

In this specification, the term “adherence” may refer to a process inwhich a medication is introduced into the user's body. The medicationadherence may be performed by various delivery systems such as an oraldelivery system, a transdermal delivery system, an injectable deliverysystem, a closed-up delivery system, a mucosal administration typedelivery system, and the like.

In this specification, the term “medication adherence” may refer to anaction performed by the user who is intended to be monitored using amedication adherence monitoring system, or an action performed on theuser.

For example, the medication adherence may include an action of taking amedication using the user's hand, an action of inhaling a medicationthrough a device such as an inhaler, an action of injecting a medicationinto the body through a device such as a syringe, an action of applyinga medication onto a portion of the body, an action of administering amedication to the user, an action of inhaling a medication by the userusing an inhaler or the like, an action of injecting a medication into aportion of the user's body using a device such as a syringe, an actionof applying a medication (ex. ointment, application, or cream etc.) ontoa portion of the user's body, or the like. The medication adherence maybe performed by the user serving as a subject or may be performed on theuser by another person serving as a subject.

Hereinafter, the medication adherence is mainly described as beingperformed by the user, but the technological concept of the presentinvention is not limited thereto, and the medication adherence may alsobe performed on the user by medical personnel, a guardian, or a manager.

In this specification, the term “monitoring” may refer to a process ofdetecting actions related to medication adherence of the user andconfirming whether the user performs the medication adherence. Forexample, the monitoring may include a process of collecting informationabout the medication adherence of the user and determining whether theuser actually performs the medication adherence or whether the userperforms the medication adherence according to the usage. Furthermore,the monitoring may include a process of managing or assisting themedication adherence of the user, such as inducing the medicationadherence of the user on the basis of data on whether the user performsthe medication adherence, or providing data for the medication adherenceof the user to a manager who manages the user's condition. Here, themonitoring includes not only monitoring for a single user but alsomonitoring for multiple users.

Hereinafter, a medication adherence monitoring system and componentsthereof will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a medication adherence monitoringsystem 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the medication adherence monitoring system 100 mayinclude a wireless communication device 1000, a wearable device 2000, aserver 3000, and a terminal device 4000.

The wireless communication device 1000 may serve to trigger imagecapturing of the wearable device 2000 in the medication adherencemonitoring system 100. For example, the wireless communication device1000 may provide specific data to the wearable device 2000, and thewearable device 2000 may obtain image data related to medicationadherence of a user on the basis of the specific data received from thewireless communication device 1000. The triggering of the wirelesscommunication device 1000 will be described in detail below.

The wireless communication device 1000 may obtain information about amedication container or a medication delivery device. For example, thewireless communication device 1000 may be attached to the medicationcontainer or the medication delivery device and may obtain a sensedvalue reflecting the movement of the medication container or medicationdelivery device or obtain a sensed value reflecting ambient light orilluminance using an embedded sensor therein. Here, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may determine whether the user starts themedication adherence on the basis of the sensed values obtained usingthe sensor.

The wireless communication device 1000 may transmit or receive signalsor data to or from the wearable device 2000 through wirelesscommunication. For example, the wearable device 2000 may receive dataindicating the start of image capturing from the wireless communicationdevice 1000.

The wearable device 2000 may collect data related to the medicationadherence of the user. For example, the wearable device 2000 may capturean image using an embedded camera therein. Here, the wearable device2000 may capture an image in response to the signal received from thewireless communication device 1000. In this case, when the wirelesscommunication device 1000 detects the process of the medicationadherence of the user and transmits the signal to the wearable device2000, the wearable device 2000 may photograph the process of themedication adherence of the user so that image data related to themedication adherence of the user may be obtained.

The wearable device 2000 may be worn on at least a portion of a body ofthe user. For example, the wearable device 2000 may include a wristband, a watch, a smart watch, or smart glasses. As another example, thewearable device 2000 may be implemented in the form of an accessory suchas glasses, a ring, a necklace, or the like.

The wearable device 2000 may communicate with the wireless communicationdevice 1000, the server 3000, or the terminal device 4000 to transmit orreceive signals or data to or from the wireless communication device1000, the server 3000, or the terminal device 4000. For example, thewearable device 2000 may transmit image data obtained by capturing animage to the server 3000 or the terminal device 4000.

The server 3000 may determine whether the user performs medicationadherence. For example, the server 3000 may determine whether the userperforms the medication adherence or may determine whether the userperforms the medication adherence in an appropriate manner using theimage data related to the medication adherence of the user.

The server 3000 may be composed of a plurality of servers classifiedaccording to functions thereof.

As an example, the server 3000 may include an analysis server for dataanalysis. The analysis server may analyze the data obtained from thewireless communication device 1000 or the wearable device 2000 todetermine whether the user performs the medication adherence, asdescribed above. The analysis server may provide a result of determiningwhether the user performs the medication adherence to the wirelesscommunication device 1000 or the wearable device 2000.

As another example, the server 3000 may include a management server fordata management. The management server may provide a platform, which isfor collecting and sorting the data related to the medication adherenceof the user to manage the medication adherence of the user, to aguardian, medical personnel, and/or a manager. Specifically, themanagement server may provide basic information, medical information,medication adherence information, etc. about the user, and the medicalpersonnel, the manager, or the guardian who uses the management servermay provide information or gives instructions to the user on the basisof the above-described information.

The server 3000 may communicate with the wearable device 2000 or theterminal device 4000 to transmit or receive data to or from the wearabledevice 2000 or the terminal device 4000. For example, the wearabledevice 2000 may receive data on whether the user performs the medicationadherence from the server 3000.

The terminal device 4000 may provide information related to themedication adherence to the user or may induce the medication adherenceof the user. For example, the terminal device 4000 may collect the dataon whether the user performs the medication adherence to provide thedata to the user or provide a notification to induce the medicationadherence of the user.

The terminal device 4000 may refer to an electronic device that providesinformation to a user, a guardian, a manager, or medical personnel(hereinafter, referred to as a “user”) related to medication adherence.For example, the terminal device 4000 may include mobile computingdevices such as mobile phones and smart phones, laptop computers,desktop computers, tablet personal computers (PCs), notebook computers,wearable computers such as smart watches or head-mounted computers, andthe like.

The terminal device 4000 may communicate with the wearable device 2000or the server 3000 to transmit or receive signals or data to or from thewearable device 2000 or the server 3000.

Meanwhile, in the medication adherence monitoring system 100, any one ofthe wireless communication device 1000, the wearable device 2000, theserver 3000, and the terminal device 4000 may be omitted. For example,in the medication adherence monitoring system 100, the terminal device4000 may be omitted.

The components of the medication adherence monitoring system 100 mayoperate as follows.

For example, the wireless communication device 1000 may provide the datafor the start of image capturing to the wearable device 2000, thewearable device 2000 may provide the image data to the server 3000, andthe server 3000 may provide image analysis data or monitoring resultdata to the wearable device 2000 or the terminal device 4000.

As another example, the wireless communication device 1000 may providethe data for the start of image capturing to the wearable device 2000,the wearable device 2000 may provide the image data to the terminaldevice 4000, the terminal device 4000 may provide the image dataobtained from the wearable device 2000 to the server 3000, and theserver 3000 may provide the image analysis data or the monitoring resultdata to the wearable device 2000 or the terminal device 4000.

Meanwhile, the server 3000 may receive the data for the start of imagecapturing from the wireless communication device 1000 or receive data onwhether the image is captured from the wearable device 2000 beforeobtaining the image data from the wearable device 2000. The server 3000may receive the data for the start of image capturing or the data onwhether the image is captured and determine in real time about duplicatemedications or untaken medication, which will be described below.

Hereinafter, the image data obtained by the wearable device 2000 isdescribed as being transmitted to the server 3000, but the technologicalconcept of the present invention is not limited thereto.

Further, the function of any one component of the medication adherencemonitoring system 100 may be performed by the function of anothercomponent. For example, the wearable device 2000 may analyze the imagedata to determine whether the user performs the medication adherence. Inthis case, the server 3000 may be omitted.

Hereinafter, each component of the medication adherence monitoringsystem 100 will be described more specifically.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a wireless communication device 1000according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the wireless communication device 1000 may includea sensor unit 1100, a first memory 1200, a first communication unit1300, and a first control unit 1400.

The sensor unit 1100 may detect or recognize movement of the wirelesscommunication device 1000 or an environment around the wirelesscommunication device 1000.

The sensor unit 1100 may include a motion sensor 1110. The motion sensor1110 may detect the movement of the wireless communication device 1000.For example, the motion sensor 1110 may detect a change in position, achange in acceleration, a change in inclination, or rotation of thewireless communication device 1000 to provide an electrical signalcorresponding thereto to the first control unit 1400, and the firstcontrol unit 1400 may obtain an acceleration value, an angular velocityvalue, a geomagnetic value, or the like from the electrical signal.

Here, the motion sensor 1110 may be composed of an acceleration sensor,a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, an inertia measurement unit (IMU),or a combination thereof. As an example, the motion sensor 1110 may becomposed of an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor that are integratedon different circuit boards and individually controlled. As anotherexample, the motion sensor 1110 may be configured as a six-axis sensoror a nine-axis sensor in which an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, ageomagnetic sensor, etc. are integrated on one circuit board andcontrolled together. As still another example, the motion sensor 1110may be configured as a single sensor, such as a three-axis accelerationsensor, a three-axis gyro sensor, a three-axis geomagnetic sensor, orthe like.

The sensor unit 1100 may include an ambient light sensor 1120. Theambient light sensor 1120 may detect ambient light of the wirelesscommunication device 1000. For example, the ambient light sensor 1120may provide an electrical signal corresponding to the ambient light ofthe wireless communication device 1000 to the first control unit 1400,and the first control unit 1400 may obtain an ambient light value fromthe electrical signal.

The sensor unit 1100 may be electrically connected to the first controlunit 1400 to transmit or receive data to or from the first control unit1400. When the sensor unit 1100 includes a plurality of sensors, thesensors may transmit or receive data to or from the first control unit1400 in different ways. For example, the sensor unit 1100 and the firstcontrol unit 1400 may use a serial communication method, any one sensorof the sensor unit 1100 may transmit or receive the data to or from thefirst control unit 1400 in a half-duplex method in which one data lineis used, and another sensor may transmit or receive the data to or fromthe first control unit 1400 in a full-duplex method in which two datalines are used. Specifically, when the sensor unit 1100 includes themotion sensor 1110 and the ambient light sensor 1120, the motion sensor1110 may transmit or receive the data to or from the first control unit1400 through Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) communication, and theambient light sensor 1120 may transmit or receive the data to or fromthe first control unit 1400 through Inter-Integrated Circuit (I²C)communication. In other words, the first control unit 1400 may transmitor receive the data in a manner that consumes relatively higher powerbut has a higher velocity than the motion sensor 1110 having arelatively high importance and may transmit or receive the data in amanner that has a relatively slower velocity but consumes less powerthan the ambient light sensor 1120 having a relatively low importance.As a result, performance of the wireless communication device 1000 andefficiency of a battery can be improved.

Meanwhile, when the sensor unit 1100 includes a plurality of sensors,the sensors may transmit or receive the data to or from the firstcontrol unit 1400 in the same manner. For example, the plurality ofsensors included in the sensor unit 1100 may transmit or receive thedata to or from the first control unit 1400 in a half-duplex method or afull-duplex method.

Meanwhile, the sensor unit 1100 may include another sensor, for example,an infrared sensor, a proximity sensor, or the like for detecting anapproach of a user or another object, in addition to the motion sensor1110 or the ambient light sensor 1120.

On the other hand, the sensor unit 1100 may further include at least onesensor control module that controls an operation of the sensor unit1100. The sensor control module may be disposed to be in close contactwith the sensors of the sensor unit 1100 to control the sensors byreceiving electrical signals from the sensors or providing electricalsignals to the sensors. For example, the sensor control module may allowthe sensors of the sensor unit 1100 to operate in a low power mode or anormal mode which will be described below. In addition, for example, thesensor control module may obtain sensed values using the electricalsignals obtained from the sensors of the sensor unit 1100 and providethe sensed values to the first control unit 1400. Here, the sensorcontrol module may be implemented on the same board as the sensors ofthe sensor unit 1100 to control to the sensors or on a separate boardfrom the sensors to transmit or receive the electrical signals to orfrom the sensors.

Meanwhile, in order to manage power consumption of the wirelesscommunication device 1000, the sensor unit 1100 may be operated in thelow power mode or the normal mode. As will be described below, thesensor unit 1100 may be operated in the low power mode, thereby reducingpower consumed by the sensor unit 1100 and consequently improving theefficiency of the battery of the wireless communication device 1000.

The low power mode may refer to a mode having relatively low powerconsumption compared to the normal mode. The sensor unit 1100 may beoperated in different ways in the normal mode and the low power mode,and power consumed for operation may be different in the normal mode andthe low power mode. For example, the sensor unit 1100 may have a lowersensing frequency in the low power mode than in the normal mode.Specifically, the motion sensor 1110 may detect the movement of thewireless communication device 1000 at an interval of a longer period inthe low power mode than in the normal mode, and the first control unit1400 may obtain a motion value at an interval of a longer period in thelow power mode than in the normal mode. The motion sensor 1110 maydetect the movement of the wireless communication device 1000 at aninterval of a shorter period in the normal mode than in the low powermode, and the first control unit 1400 may obtain a motion value at aninterval of a shorter period in the normal mode than in the low powermode.

Similarly, the ambient light sensor 1120 may detect the ambient light ofthe wireless communication device 1000 at an interval of a longer periodin the low power mode than in the normal mode, and the first controlunit 1400 may obtain the ambient light value at an interval of a longerperiod in the low power mode than in the normal mode. The ambient lightsensor 1120 may detect the ambient light of the wireless communicationdevice 1000 at an interval of a shorter period in the normal mode thanin the low power mode, and the first control unit 1400 may obtain anambient light value at an interval of a shorter period in the normalmode than in the low power mode.

As another example, in the sensor unit 1100, all the sensors may beoperated in the normal mode but some of the sensors that are operated inthe normal mode may not be operated in the low power mode. Specifically,when the motion sensor 1110 includes at least two of an accelerationsensor, a gyro sensor, and a geomagnetic sensor, the first control unit1400 may obtain only a corresponding sensed value (e.g., an accelerationvalue) using any one sensor (e.g., the acceleration sensor) in the lowpower mode and obtain other corresponding sensed values (e.g., a gyrovalue and/or a geomagnetic value) using the other sensors (e.g., thegyro sensor and/or the geomagnetic sensor) in the normal mode.

As described above, the sensor unit 1100 may be operated in the lowpower mode in a specific situation and operated in a normal mode inanother specific situation, thereby preventing unnecessary powerconsumption and improving the efficiency of the battery. The specificsituation in which the sensor unit 1100 is operated in the low powermode or the normal mode will be described in detail below.

The first memory 1200 may be configured to store various types ofinformation. Various types of data may be temporarily orsemi-permanently stored in the first memory 1200. Examples of the firstmemory 1200 may include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid-state drive(SSD), a flash memory, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory(RAM), etc.

The first memory 1200 may be provided in a form of being embedded in thewireless communication device 1000 and used by the first control unit1400 to store, load, and delete the data.

In the first memory 1200, an operating program (OS) for driving thewireless communication device 1000, commands or programs for operatingeach component of the wireless communication device 1000, and varioustypes of data required for the operation of the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may be stored. For example, in the first memory 1200, thesensed values obtained by the first control unit 1400 using the sensorunit 1100 or data for triggering a wearable device 2000 to be describedbelow may be stored. Specifically, in the first memory 1200, sensedvalues such as identification information, manufacturer information,product information, the motion value, and the ambient light value ofthe wireless communication device 1000, activation data, a programrelated to an algorithm for controlling the sensor unit 1100 andcalculating the activation data, etc. may be stored.

The first communication unit 1300 may communicate with a device locatedoutside the wireless communication device 1000. The first communicationunit 1300 may use a wireless personal area network (WPAN) communicationmethod, such as Bluetooth or Zigbee. However, since a wirelesscommunication protocol is not limited thereto, the first communicationunit 1300 may use a wireless local area network (WLAN) communicationmethod, such as Wi-Fi, or use another known communication method, suchas radio-frequency identification (RFID), Near-Field Communication(NFC), magnetic secure transmission (MST), Near-Field Magnetic Induction(NFMI), or the like. The first communication unit 1300 may use aplurality of communication methods. In this case, the firstcommunication unit 1300 may include a plurality of communication modulescorresponding to the respective communication methods. The firstcommunication unit 1300 may also be expressed as a transceiver, atransmitter, a receiver, or a transmitter-receiver.

The wireless communication device 1000 may exchange signals or data withthe wearable device 2000 through the first communication unit 1300.

The first control unit 1400 may control overall operations of thewireless communication device 1000. As an example, the first controlunit 1400 may load and execute programs for the operations of thewireless communication device 1000. As another example, the firstcontrol unit 1400 may generate a data packet including specific datausing signals or data obtained from the sensor unit 1100.

Here, the first control unit 1400 may be implemented with a device suchas a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a processor core,a multiprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), ora field programmable gate array (FPGA) according to hardware, software,or a combination thereof. The first control unit 1400 may be provided inthe form of an electronic circuit that performs a function of controlsuch as processing electrical signals in hardware, or may be provided inthe form of a program or code for driving a hardware circuit in a viewof software.

Meanwhile, although not illustrated in FIG. 2, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may include a power supply unit implemented asa disposable battery or rechargeable battery that supplies power. Inthis case, when the power supply unit is implemented as a rechargeablebattery, the wireless communication device 1000 may further include acharging terminal for charging power.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a wearable device 2000 according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the wearable device 2000 may include a cameramodule 2100, an input/output unit 2200, a second memory 2300, a secondcommunication unit 2400, and a second control unit 2500.

The camera module 2100 may shoot a video in a preset area set based onthe camera 2100. For example, the camera module 2100 may have a presetfield of view (FoV), and the second control unit 2500 may use the cameramodule 2100 to obtain video data related to medication adherence of theuser. More specifically, when the wearable device 2000 is worn on theuser's wrist, at least a portion of the user's palm may be included inthe FoV of the camera module 2100, and as the user performs medicationadherence using his or her hand, the camera module 2100 may shoot avideo related to a medication and a medication adherence action of theuser.

The camera module 2100 may shoot the video using a red, green, and blue(RGB) camera, infrared camera, stereo camera, or depth camera method.Meanwhile, the wearable device 2000 may include a plurality of cameramodules that use different photographing methods.

The input/output unit 2200 may include an input module that receives auser input from the user and an output module that outputs and providesvarious types of information to the user.

Here, the user input may be made in various forms including a key input,a touch input, and a voice input. The input module is a comprehensiveconcept that includes not only a traditional type of keypad, keyboard,and mouse, but also a touch sensor that detects the user's touch, andvarious types of input devices that detect or receive various types ofuser inputs. Further, the input module may be implemented in the form ofan input interface (e.g., a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, a PersonalSystem/2 (PS/2) port, etc.) for connecting an external input device thatreceives the user input to an electronic device, instead of beingimplemented with a device that detects the user input by itself.

The output module is a comprehensive concept that includes a displaythat outputs a video, a speaker that outputs sound, a haptic device thatgenerates vibration, and other various types of output devices. Inaddition, the output module may be implemented in the form of aport-type output interface for connecting an individual output device toan electronic device.

The second memory 2300 may be configured to store various types ofinformation. Various types of data may be temporarily orsemi-permanently stored in the second memory 2300. Since a configurationor implementation form of the second memory 2300 is the same as that ofthe first memory 1200 described above, duplicate content will beomitted.

In the second memory 2300, an OS for driving the wearable device 2000,commands or programs for operating each component of the wearable device2000, and various types of data required for the operation of thewearable device 2000 may be stored. As an example, in the second memory2300, video data obtained by the second control unit 2500 using thecamera module 2100 or data obtained from the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may be stored. As another example, in the second memory2300, identification information, manufacturer information, and/orproduct information of the wireless communication device 1000 may bestored.

The second communication unit 2400 may communicate with a device locatedoutside the wearable device 2000. Since a configuration orimplementation form of the second communication unit 2400 is the same asthat of the first communication unit 1300 described above, duplicatecontent will be omitted.

The wearable device 2000 may exchange signals or data with the wirelesscommunication device 1000, a server 3000, or a terminal device 4000through the second communication unit 2400.

The second control unit 2500 may control overall operations of thewearable device 2000. As an example, the second control unit 2500 mayload and execute programs for the operations of the wearable device2000. As another example, the second control unit 2500 may process thevideo data obtained from the camera module 2100. As still anotherexample, the second control unit 2500 may transmit a data packetincluding specific data to the wireless communication device 1000through the second communication unit 2400 or transmit the video data tothe server 3000.

Since a configuration or implementation form of the second control unit2500 is the same as that of the second control unit 1400 describedabove, duplicate content will be omitted.

Meanwhile, although not illustrated in FIG. 3, the wearable device 2000may further include various types of sensor modules. As an example, thewearable device 2000 may include a heart rate sensor, a temperaturesensor, a blood pressure sensor, a proximity sensor, anelectroencephalogram (EEG) sensor, or the like for obtaining the user'sbiometric information. As another example, the wearable device 2000 mayinclude an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, orthe like for detecting movement (e.g., a medication adherence action, awalking or running action, a falling action, etc.) of the user who wearsthe wearable device 2000.

Further, the wearable device 2000 may include a power supply unitimplemented as a disposable battery or rechargeable battery thatsupplies power. In this case, when the power supply unit is implementedas a rechargeable battery, the wearable device 2000 may further includea charging terminal for charging power.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a server 3000 according to anembodiment of the present invention.

The server 3000 may include components for processing, analysis, andmanagement of data. For example, referring to FIG. 4, the server 3000may include a server input/output unit 3100, a server memory 3200, aserver communication unit 3300, and a server control unit 3400. Since aform or implementation method of each component of the server 3000 isthe same as that of the wireless communication device 1000 or thewearable device 2000 described above, duplicate content will be omitted.

The server 3000 may exchange data with the wearable device 2000 and theterminal device 4000 through the server communication unit 3300. As anexample, the server communication unit 3300 may receive video datarelated to medication adherence from the wearable device 2000 andprovide, to the wearable device 2000 and/or the terminal device 4000, aresult of determining whether the user performs the medicationadherence, which is derived from the video data by the server controlunit 3400. As another example, the server communication unit 3300 mayobtain information such as medication information, prescriptioninformation, a medication adherence schedule, or the user's status fromthe terminal device 4000.

The server 3000 may store an OS for driving the server 3000, commands orprograms for operating each component of the server 3000, and varioustypes of data required for the operation of the server 3000 in theserver memory 3200. Further, the server 3000 may store a program used todetermine whether the medication adherence is performed in the servermemory 3200.

The server control unit 3400 may control overall operations of theserver 3000. As an example, the server control unit 3400 may load andexecute programs for the operations of the server 3000. As anotherexample, the server control unit 3400 may apply the video data obtainedfrom the wearable device 2000 to an analysis program to calculate aresult of determining whether the user performs the medicationadherence.

The terminal device 4000 may provide information on whether the userperforms the medication adherence to the user, a guardian, or medicalpersonnel or provide an application or a user interface/user experience(UI/UX) for managing the medication adherence of the user to the user,the guardian, or the medical personnel. To this end, the terminal device4000 may include an input unit, an output unit, a memory, acommunication unit, a control unit, and a power supply unit. Since aform or implementation method of each component of the terminal device4000 is the same as that of the wireless communication device 1000 orthe wearable device 2000 described above, duplicate content will beomitted.

An application executed in the terminal device 4000 may provide ascheduling service or a notification service for inducing the medicationadherence of the user. In this case, the terminal device 4000 mayreflect the data obtained from the wearable device 2000 or the server3000 when executing the application.

Meanwhile, the terminal device 4000 may be omitted from a medicationadherence monitoring system 100, and the function of the terminal device4000 described above may be implemented or performed in the wearabledevice 2000 or the server 3000.

Hereinafter, the operation of the medication adherence monitoring system100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 17.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an operation process of a medicationadherence monitoring system 100 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the medication adherence monitoring system may beused as follows in an environment in which a user performs medicationadherence.

A wireless communication device 1000 may be physically connected to anobject. As an example, the wireless communication device 1000 may beattached to or detached from the object. As another example, thewireless communication device 1000 may be connected to the objectthrough a connecting member such as a clip, a string, or the like.

Here, the object may refer to an object that the user has to approachfor the medication adherence. For example, the object may include amedication container or a medication delivery device in which amedication is contained.

The wireless communication device 1000 may be connected to the object invarious ways. As an example, the wireless communication device 1000 mayinclude an adhesive member and may be attached to at least an area ofthe object through the adhesive member. Specifically, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may be attached to the object usingdouble-sided tape, Velcro tape, an adhesive pad, a gel pad, an epoxyadhesive, a silicone adhesive, or the like. As another example, thewireless communication device 1000 may be forcibly coupled to at leastan area of the object. The wireless communication device 1000 may belocated on the object and may serve to detect movement of the object inthe process in which the user performs the medication adherence, as willbe described below.

The wireless communication device 1000 may have various shapes. As anexample, the wireless communication device 1000 may have a shape of afigure including a curved surface, such as a cylindrical shape, apolygonal column shape, a hemispherical shape, or a pyramidical shape,or a shape of a figure including a flat surface. As another example, thewireless communication device 1000 may have a shape corresponding to ashape of the object. Specifically, when the object is a medicationcontainer having a cylindrical shape, the wireless communication device1000 may also have a cylindrical shape or a hemispherical shape.

The wearable device 2000 may access the wireless communication device1000 in the process in which the user performs the medication adherence.For example, when the wearable device 2000 is worn on the user's wristand the user approaches the object in order to take the medication outof the object, the wearable device 2000 may be located close to thewireless communication device 1000.

The wireless communication device 1000 may be moved or rotated in theprocess in which the user performs the medication adherence. Forexample, when the user moves or rotates the object to which the wirelesscommunication device 1000 is attached in order to take the medicationout of the object, the wireless communication device 1000 may be movedor rotated according to the movement of the object. In this case, thewireless communication device 1000 may generate activation data inconsideration of a degree of movement of the wireless communicationdevice 1000 and an environment around the wireless communication device1000 and provide the generated activation data to the wearable device2000.

Here, the activation data may refer to data instructing activation of aspecific function of a device located outside the wireless communicationdevice 1000. For example, the activation data may refer to datainstructing activation of the camera module 2100 of the wearable device2000. The activation data will be described in detail below.

The wearable device 2000 may activate the camera module 2100 to shoot avideo related to the medication adherence of the user. For example, whenthe wearable device 2000 receives the activation data from the wirelesscommunication device 1000, the wearable device 2000 may activate thecamera module 2100 to shoot the video. In this case, since time consumedfor generating the activation data in the wireless communication device1000 and providing the activation data to the wearable device 2000 isrelatively shorter than time consumed for the user to take themedication out of the object or time required for the user to performthe medication adherence, the wearable device 2000 may obtain video datarelated to the medication adherence of the user, specifically, videodata including a process of taking the medication or a process ofinjecting the medication to the body.

The server 3000 may analyze the video data received from the wearabledevice 2000 to determine whether the user performs the medicationadherence. Further, the server 3000 may transmit a result of determiningwhether the user performs the medication adherence to the wearabledevice 2000 or the terminal device 4000 to provide the result to theuser, a guardian, or medical personnel.

Hereinafter, the operation of each component of the medication adherencemonitoring system 100 will be described in more detail.

Hereinafter, a method of transmitting or receiving data in the wirelesscommunication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a communication process between thewireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are diagrams illustrating data packets transmitted by thewireless communication device 1000 according to the embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the wireless communication device 1000 and thewearable device 2000 may be subjected to a pairing process and aconnecting process in order to transmit and receive data.

The pairing process may refer to a process in which different devicesrecognize each other before transmitting or receiving data throughwireless communication. Specifically, the wireless communication device1000 and the wearable device 2000 may share a link-key and establish anencrypted connection during the pairing process.

Hereinafter, the pairing process will be described in detail.

The wireless communication device 1000 may transmit an advertisingsignal to the outside (S110). For example, the first control unit 1400may transmit the advertising signal to the outside using the firstcommunication unit 1300.

The advertising signal may refer to a data packet including specificdata. For example, referring to FIG. 7, the advertising signal may beexpressed as an advertising channel packet composed of a preamble, anaccess address, a protocol data unit (PDU), and a cyclic redundancycheck (CRC). Here, the preamble may have a data size of 1 octet, theaccess address may have a data size of 4 octets, the PDU may have a datasize of 2 to 39 octets, and the CRC may have a data size of 3 octets.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, theadvertising signal is a signal for a pairing process and may includeidentification data, manufacturer data, and/or transmission strengthdata of the wireless communication device 1000 but may not include thesensed value and activation data obtained from the wirelesscommunication device 1000.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, theadvertising signal may include not only identification data,manufacturer data, and transmission strength data of the wirelesscommunication device 1000 to be described below, but also a sensed valuesuch as a motion value or an ambient light value and/or activation datato be described below.

The advertising signal may be expressed as an advertising PDU, anadvertising packet, an advertising frame, advertising, or the like.

The advertising signal may be transmitted in a broadcast method in whicha signal is transmitted to unspecified targets or in a unicast method inwhich a signal is transmitted to a specific target.

The wireless communication device 1000 may transmit the advertisingsignal in a specific period. For example, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may transmit the advertising signal in a period which is setwithin a range of 20 ms to 10.24 s. In this case, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may set a period of transmitting theadvertising signal in consideration of the efficiency of the battery andof a time point at which the user performs the medication adherence.

When the wearable device 2000 receives the advertising signal, thewearable device 2000 may transmit a scan request signal (S120). Forexample, when the second control unit 2500 receives the advertisingsignal from the first communication unit 1300, the second control unit2500 may transmit the scan request signal to the outside through thesecond communication unit 2400. In this case, when the advertisingsignal does not include information about the wireless communicationdevice 1000, the wearable device 2000 may not transmit the scan requestsignal.

The wireless communication device 1000 may transmit a scan responsesignal (S130). For example, when the first control unit 1400 receivesthe scan request signal from the second communication unit 2400, thefirst control unit 1400 may transmit the scan response signal to theoutside using the first communication unit 1300.

Each of the scan request signal and the scan response signal may becomposed of a data packet including specific data. For example, the scanrequest signal may include data for requesting a device name, uniqueidentification information, or the like of a target to communicate with,and the scan response signal may include data indicating a device name,unique identification information, or the like corresponding toinformation requested in the scan request signal.

Each of the scan request signal and the scan response signal may becomposed of a data packet having the same configuration as the datapacket of the advertising signal.

The scan request signal may be expressed as a scan request PDU, ascanning PDU, a scan request packet, a scan request frame, a scanrequest, or the like.

The above-described advertising signal, scan request signal, and scanresponse signal may be transmitted or received at a specific time pointin a specific frequency band. For example, when the wirelesscommunication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 use Bluetooth LowEnergy (BLE) communication, the advertising signal, the scan requestsignal, and the scan response signal may be transmitted or receivedthrough three channels of a BLE communication band of 2.400 GHz to 2.480GHz.

The wireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 maybe paired (S140). For example, the wireless communication device 1000and the wearable device 2000 may share a preset link-key or encryptionkey through the scan request signal and/or the scan response signal tomaintain an encrypted connection state.

When the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000are paired, the pairing process may not be performed until the pairingis released.

The pairing between the wireless communication device 1000 and thewearable device 2000 may be released when a preset condition issatisfied. For example, the wearable device 2000 may receive an inputfrom the user or the like through the input/output unit 2200 to releasethe pairing by deleting the link-key or encryption key shared with thewireless communication device 1000.

Meanwhile, when the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearabledevice 2000 have been paired in the past, the step S140 in which thewireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 arepaired may be omitted. For example, when the wireless communicationdevice 1000 and the wearable device 2000 have already shared thelink-key or the encryption key, the wireless communication device 1000may transmit the advertising signal (S110) and the wearable device 2000may transmit the scan request signal (S120). When the wirelesscommunication device 1000 transmits the scan response signal (S130), thewireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 may beautomatically paired to transmit or receive the data.

The connection process may refer to a process in which different devicesshare information required for transmitting or receiving the data afterpairing. Specifically, the wireless communication device 1000 and thewearable device 2000 may set a frequency band in which data is to betransmitted or received to or from each other or set a data transmissionor reception time point during the connection process. In this case, thedata transmission or reception time point may be set in consideration ofthe efficiency of the battery and of the time at which the user performsthe medication adherence.

Hereinafter, the connection process will be described in detail.

The wireless communication device 1000 may transmit an advertisingsignal to the wearable device 2000 (S210). For example, the firstcontrol unit 1400 may transmit the advertising signal to the secondcommunication unit 2400 using the first communication unit 1300. Here,the advertising signal in step S210 may have the same data packetstructure as the advertising signal in step S110. Meanwhile, theadvertising signal may be transmitted through the specific frequencyband set between the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearabledevice 2000 during the pairing process.

The wearable device 2000 may transmit a connect request signal to thewireless communication device 1000 (S220). For example, when the secondcontrol unit 2500 receives the advertising signal from the firstcommunication unit 1300, the second control unit 2500 may transmit theconnect request signal to the first communication unit 1300 through thesecond communication unit 2400.

The connect request signal may be expressed as a connect request PDU, aninitiation PDU, a connect request packet, a connect request frame, aconnect request, or the like.

The wireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 maybe connected to each other (S230). For example, when the first controlunit 1400 receives the connect request signal from the secondcommunication unit 2400, the first control unit 1400 may change anoperation mode from an advertising mode to a connecting mode. Here, theadvertising mode may refer to a mode in which the advertising signal isperiodically transmitted to the outside before the wirelesscommunication device 1000 is connected to the wearable device 2000. Inaddition, here, the connecting mode may refer to a mode in which thedata is transmitted through a data channel to be described below formedbetween the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device2000 after the wireless communication device 1000 is connected to thewearable device 2000.

In the connection step S230, a data transmitting/receiving channel maybe formed between the wireless communication device 1000 and thewearable device 2000. When the data transmitting/receiving channel isformed, the data transmission or reception frequency band and time pointof the wireless communication device 1000 may correspond to the datatransmission or reception frequency band and time point of the wearabledevice 2000.

When the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000are connected to each other, the wireless communication device 1000 andthe wearable device 2000 may transmit or receive a signal forperiodically confirming the connection through the datatransmitting/receiving channel while the connection is maintained. Forexample, when the wireless communication device 1000 or the wearabledevice 2000 transmits a connection acknowledge request signal while theconnection is maintained, the wearable device 2000 or the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may transmit a connection acknowledge signal.Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, thewearable device 2000 may activate the camera module 2100 on the basis ofan activation signal received from the wireless communication device1000, and the wireless communication device 1000 may transmit theactivation signal together with the connection acknowledge requestsignal or the connection acknowledge signal to the wearable device 2000after being connected to the wearable device 2000. The connectionacknowledge signal might be also interpreted as a connection confirmsignal which indicates confirmation of the connection. The connectionacknowledge request signal might be also interpreted as a connectionconfirm request signal which requests the confirmation of theconnection.

In the connection process, the wireless communication device 1000 maygenerate activation data. For example, in at least one operation of stepS210 in which the wireless communication device 1000 transmits theadvertising signal to the wearable device 2000, step S220 in which thewearable device 2000 transmits the connect request signal to thewireless communication device 1000, and step S230 in which the wirelesscommunication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 are connected toeach other, the wireless communication device 1000 may operate thesensor unit 1100 and generate the activation data on the basis of thesensed value obtained by using the sensor unit 1100. Meanwhile, thewireless communication device 1000 may generate the activation dataduring the pairing process, similar to the connection process.

The above-described connection process may or may not be performedaccording to a positional relationship between the wirelesscommunication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000. For example,when the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000are located within a preset distance, the connection process may beperformed between the wireless communication device 1000 and thewearable device 2000.

Meanwhile, the pairing process and the connection process may beperformed automatically or may be performed manually by a user or thelike. As an example, when the wearable device 2000 receives theadvertising signal from the wireless communication device 1000, thewearable device 2000 may output the information about the wirelesscommunication device 1000 to the user or the like through theinput/output unit 2200 and receive an input from the user to transmitthe scan request signal or the connect request signal to the wirelesscommunication device 1000. As another example, when the advertisingsignal received from the wireless communication device 1000 includespreset data such as a product number or manufacturing number, thewearable device 2000 may automatically transmit the scan request signalor the connect request signal to the wireless communication device 1000.

After the connection step S230, the wireless communication device 1000may transmit a data signal to the wearable device 2000 (S240). Forexample, the wireless communication device 1000 may transmit a datasignal including specific data to the wearable device 2000 through thedata transmitting/receiving channel formed in the connection step S230.

The data signal may refer to a data packet including specific data. Forexample, referring to FIG. 8, the data signal may be expressed as a datachannel packet composed of a preamble, an access address, a PDU, and aCRC. Here, the preamble may have a data size of 1 octet, the accessaddress may have a data size of 4 octets, the PDU may have a data sizeof 2 to 257 octets, and the CRC may have a data size of 3 octets. Inaddition, here, the data signal may include identification data,manufacturer data, transmission strength data, motion data, ambientlight data, and/or activation data of the wireless communication device1000 to be described below.

Meanwhile, referring to FIGS. 7 and 8 again, the advertising channelpacket and the data channel packet may have different structures.

For example, the PDU of the advertising channel packet may include anadvertiser header, an advertiser address, and an advertising payload.Here, the advertiser address may refer to a media access control (MAC)address for indicating product-specific identification information. Inaddition, here, the advertising payload may include a universally uniqueidentifier (UUID) for indicating that the product is a product of aspecific manufacturer, and transmission strength (Tx power) indicatingthe strength or intensity of a transmitted signal.

In addition, for example, the PDU of the data channel packet may includea data header, a data payload, and a message integrity check (MIC).Here, the MIC may be omitted.

As described above, the PDU of the advertising channel packet and thePDU of the data channel packet may have different lengths. Specificallya maximum length of the PDU of the data channel packet may be longerthan a maximum length of the PDU of the advertising channel packet sothat the PDU of the data channel packet may include more data.Therefore, when the wireless communication device 1000 transmits theidentification data or the advertiser address of the wirelesscommunication device 1000 having a relatively small size to the wearabledevice 2000, the wireless communication device 1000 may transmit theadvertising signal in the form of the advertising channel packet, andwhen the wireless communication device 1000 transmits the sensed valuesto be described below, the activation data, etc. having a relativelylarge size, the wireless communication device 1000 may transmit the datasignal in the form of the data channel packet.

In the data signal transmission step S240, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may include data to be transmitted in the data payload ofthe data channel packet to transmit the data to the wearable device2000.

Meanwhile, as will be described below, the wireless communication device1000 may transmit the data to the wearable device 2000 without thepairing process or the connection process. In this case, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may include the data to be transmitted in theadvertising payload of the advertising channel packet to transmit thedata to the wearable device 2000.

The connection between the wireless communication device 1000 and thewearable device 2000 may be released (S250). When the preset conditionis satisfied, the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearabledevice 2000 may stop the data transmission or reception or may transmitor receive a connection release signal and/or a connection releaseacknowledge signal to release the connection formed in the connectionstep S230. The connection release acknowledge signal might be alsointerpreted as a connection release confirm signal which indicatesconfirmation that the connection is released.

For example, when strength of a signal received by the wirelesscommunication device 1000 or the wearable device 2000 is less than orequal to a preset value, the connection between the wirelesscommunication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 may be released.Specifically, when strength of a signal obtained from the wirelesscommunication device 1000 is less than or equal to strengthcorresponding to the preset distance, the second control unit 2500 maytransmit the connection release signal to the wireless communicationdevice 1000 or may stop the data signal transmission to release theconnection with the wireless communication device 1000.

As another example, when the wireless communication device 1000transmits the activation data to the wearable device 2000, theconnection between the wireless communication device 1000 and thewearable device 2000 may be released. For example, the first controlunit 1400 may transmit a data signal including the activation data tothe wearable device 2000 and then transmit the connection release signalor stop the data signal transmission to release the connection with thewearable device 2000.

As still another example, when the wireless communication device 1000and the wearable device 2000 are connected to each other and apredetermined time has elapsed, the connection between the wirelesscommunication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 may be released.Alternatively, when the data signal is transmitted from the wirelesscommunication device 1000 to the wearable device 2000 or the connectionacknowledge request signal or the acknowledge signal is transmitted fromthe wearable device 2000 to the wireless communication device 1000 andthen a predetermined time has elapsed, the connection between thewireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 may bereleased.

As yet another example, when the sensed value obtained by the wirelesscommunication device 1000 using the sensor unit 1100 is less than orequal to a preset value, the connection between the wirelesscommunication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 may be released.More specifically, when the motion value obtained from the motion sensorby the first control unit 1400 is less than or equal to a preset valueor when an amount of change in the motion value is less than or equal toa preset amount of change, the data signal transmission may stop.Alternatively, when the ambient light value obtained from the ambientlight sensor by the first control unit 1400 is less than or equal to apreset value, the connection release signal may be transmitted or thedata signal transmission may stop.

Meanwhile, an operating state of the wireless communication device 1000may be changed during the pairing process or the connection process. Asan example, the wireless communication device 1000 may be operated in asleep state to be described below before being paired with the wearabledevice 2000 and then the sleep state may be changed to a standby stateto be described below during pairing with the wearable device 2000 orafter being paired with the wearable device 2000 so that the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may be operated in the standby state. Asanother example, the wireless communication device 1000 may be operatedin the sleep state before being connected to the wearable device 2000and then the sleep state may be changed to a standby state to bedescribed below during connection to the wearable device 2000 or afterbeing connected to the wearable device 2000 so that the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may be operated in the standby state. In theabove, a case in which the wireless communication device 1000 and thewearable device 2000 perform data communication using BLE technology hasbeen mainly described, but the technological concept of the presentinvention is not limited thereto. For example, when the wirelesscommunication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 use beaconcommunication, the above-described the pairing process and/or connectionprocess may be omitted. As still another example, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 may transmit orreceive the data using Wi-Fi communication.

Hereinafter, a method of generating activation data in the wirelesscommunication device 1000 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to11.

The medication adherence monitoring system 100 may collect data relatedto the medication adherence of the user in order to monitor themedication adherence of the user. Here, the data related to themedication adherence may refer to various pieces of data. For example,the data related to the medication adherence may include images, videos,sounds, motions, etc. that reflect the process in which the userperforms the medication adherence. Hereinafter, a case in which the datarelated to the medication adherence is video data that reflects theprocess in which the user performs the medication adherence is mainlydescribed, but the technological concept of the present invention is notlimited thereto, and image data, sound data, motion data, or other datarelated to the medication adherence may also be applied.

In order for the above-described video data to sufficiently reflect theprocess in which the user performs the medication adherence, a timepoint at which video shooting starts and a position where the video isshot should be considered important. For example, the time point atwhich the video shooting starts may be set based on a time point atwhich the user approaches the object containing the medication at acertain velocity or higher in order to perform the medication adherence,a time point at which the object containing the medication is moved, atime point at which a cap of the object containing the medication isseparated or moved, or a time point at which the medication is taken outof the object. In addition, for example, the position where the video isshot may be the wearable device 2000 worn on the user's body, and theposition where the video is shot may be around the user's wrist, eye, orfinger according to the position where the wearable device 2000 is worn.For example, a time point at which the video is shot may be set based ona time point at which the user moves the object containing themedication in order to perform the medication adherence, and theposition where the video is shot may be the wearable device 2000 worn onthe user's body.

Meanwhile, the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearabledevice 2000 may interact with each other in order to improve a degree towhich the video data reflects the process of the medication adherence ofthe user. For example, the wireless communication device 1000 may detectthe movement of the object to determine whether the video shootingstarts, and may transmit the activation data to the wearable device 2000according to a result of the determination to activate the camera module2100 of the wearable device 2000.

Here, the activation data may refer to data indicating that themedication adherence of the user starts. For example, when the wirelesscommunication device 1000 detects the movement of the object and/or theenvironment around the object to determine that the medication adherenceof the user starts, the wireless communication device 1000 may generatethe activation data to provide the activation data to the wearabledevice 2000. Furthermore, when the wearable device 2000 receives theactivation data, the wearable device 2000 may activate the camera module2100 to shoot a video. Meanwhile, the activation data may be interpretedas data indicating whether it is necessary to initiate shooting a videoor as data instructing the activation of the camera module 2100 of thewearable device 2000.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a method of generating activation datain the wireless communication device 1000 according to the embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIGS. 10 and 11 are diagrams illustrating states of the wirelesscommunication device 1000 or environments around the wirelesscommunication device 1000, which are detected by the sensor unit 1100 ofthe wireless communication device 1000.

Referring to FIG. 9, the wireless communication device 1000 may performa step S1100 of obtaining a motion value from the motion sensor 1110, astep S1200 of determining whether the motion value satisfies a motioncondition, a step S1300 of obtaining an ambient light value from theambient light sensor 1120, a step S1400 of determining whether theambient light value satisfies an ambient light condition, and a stepS1500 of generating or changing activation data.

Hereinafter, each operation will be described in detail.

The wireless communication device 1000 may obtain the motion value fromthe motion sensor 1110 (S1100). For example, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may be attached to the object, and when the user moves orrotates the object for medication adherence, the first control unit 1400may obtain a motion value corresponding to the movement and/or rotationof the object from the motion sensor 1110.

The motion sensor 1110 may include at least one of an accelerationsensor, a gyro sensor, and a geomagnetic sensor, and the motion valuemay include at least one of an acceleration value, a gyro value, and ageomagnetic value.

The wireless communication device 1000 may detect the movement of theobject using the motion sensor 1110. For example, referring to FIG. 10,the wireless communication device 1000 may be attached to the objectduring the medication adherence process and may be moved, rotated, orinclined together with the object.

Here, the wireless communication device 1000 may detect a change inposition of the wireless communication device 1000 according to a changein position of the object using an acceleration sensor and/or a gyrosensor. In this case, the change in position of the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may correspond to a case in which the usermoves the object for medication adherence.

In addition, here, the wireless communication device 1000 may detect arotational movement of the wireless communication device 1000 accordingto a rotational movement of the object using the acceleration sensorand/or the gyro sensor. In this case, the rotational movement of thewireless communication device 1000 may reflect an action of the usersuch as opening the cap of the object for medication adherence.

In addition, here, the wireless communication device 1000 may detect adegree of inclination of the wireless communication device 1000according to a degree of inclination of the object using theacceleration sensor, the gyro sensor, and/or the geomagnetic sensor. Inthis case, the degree of inclination of the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may reflect an action of the user such as shaking orinclining the object during the medication adherence process.

Here, the motion sensor 1110 may detect a degree of a change inposition, a degree of a rotational movement, or a degree of inclinationof the wireless communication device 1000 attached to the object. Forexample, the degree of the change in position, the degree of therotational movement, or the degree of the inclination of the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may be reflected in an acceleration value, agyro value, or a geomagnetic value among motion values.

The wireless communication device 1000 may determine whether the motionvalue satisfies the motion condition (S1200). The wireless communicationdevice 1000 may determine whether the motion value satisfies the motioncondition in order to detect the user's action of moving the objectcontaining the medication while the user performs the medicationadherence. For example, the first control unit 1400 may determinewhether a motion condition to be described below is satisfied, on thebasis of the motion value obtained from the motion sensor 1110.

The motion condition may be set as a condition for recognizing an actionof the user taking the medication during the medication adherenceprocess or taking out or preparing the medication before injecting themedication into the user's body.

The motion condition may include a condition in which an amount ofchange in the motion value is greater than or equal to a motionthreshold value. For example, the motion condition may include acondition in which a difference between acceleration values obtained atdifferent time points is greater than or equal to an accelerationthreshold value, a condition in which a difference between gyro valuesobtained at different time points is greater than or equal to a gyrothreshold value, a condition in which a difference between geomagneticvalues obtained at different time points is greater than or equal to ageomagnetic threshold value, and/or a combination thereof.

Here, the motion threshold value may refer to a difference value betweenthe motion values recognized that the wireless communication device 1000is moved. As an example, the motion condition may be set as a case inwhich an amount of change in the acceleration value obtained from theacceleration sensor is 0.15 or more, and specifically, may be set as acase in which an amount of change in each of x-axis, y-axis, and z-axisvalues obtained from the acceleration sensor is 0.15 or more. As anotherexample, the motion condition may be set as a case in which an amount ofchange in the gyro value obtained from the gyro sensor is 0.15 or more,and specifically, may be set as a case in which an amount of change ineach of pitch, roll, and yaw values obtained from the gyro sensor is0.15 or more.

Meanwhile, the motion threshold value may be set to be differentaccording to the object to which the wireless communication device 1000is attached. For example, in the case in which the wirelesscommunication device 1000 is attached to the object such as a medicationcontainer, the wireless communication device 1000 may be movedrelatively little or move slowly when the user takes the medication outthereof, and in the case in which the wireless communication device 1000is attached to the object such as a medicine cabinet, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may be moved relatively more or move rapidlywhen the user takes the medication out thereof. In this case, the motionthreshold value may be set to a smaller value when the wirelesscommunication device 1000 is attached to a medicine cabinet than whenthe wireless communication device 1000 is attached to a medicationcontainer.

Alternatively, the motion condition may include a condition in which themotion value is greater than or equal to the motion threshold value. Forexample, the motion condition may include a condition in which theacceleration value is greater than or equal to the accelerationthreshold value, a condition in which the gyro value is greater than orequal to the gyro threshold value, a condition in which the geomagneticvalue is greater than or equal to the geomagnetic threshold value,and/or a combination thereof.

Here, the motion threshold value may be set to a minimum valuerecognized as the wireless communication device 1000 moving.

Meanwhile, the motion condition may be set as a condition in which theuser's actions appearing in the process in which the user performs themedication adherence are sequentially detected.

For example, the motion condition may be set as a condition in which thegyro value becomes greater than or equal to the gyro threshold valueafter the acceleration value becomes greater than or equal to theacceleration threshold value. In this case, the motion condition maycorrespond to a case in which it is assumed that the user's action thatshould be detected by using the motion value is an action of rotating apart of the object to which the wireless communication device 1000 isattached after moving the object.

As another example, the motion condition may be set as a condition inwhich the acceleration value becomes greater than or equal to theacceleration threshold value after the geomagnetic value becomes greaterthan or equal to the geomagnetic threshold value. In this case, themotion condition may correspond to a case in which it is assumed thatthe user's action to be detected by using the motion value is an actionof moving the object after shaking the object.

As still another example, the motion condition may be set as a conditionin which the acceleration value becomes greater than or equal to theacceleration threshold value after the gyro value becomes greater thanor equal to the gyro threshold value. In this case, the motion conditionmay correspond to a case in which it is assumed that the user's actionthat should be detected by using the motion value is an action of takingthe medication out thereof after rotating a part of the object to whichthe wireless communication device 1000 is attached.

The step S1200 of determining whether the motion value satisfies themotion condition may be performed at a specific time point or at aspecific time interval. As an example, the wireless communication device1000 may determine whether the motion condition is satisfied at a timepoint at which a signal such as a connect request signal, a connectionacknowledge request signal, a connection acknowledge signal, or a datasignal is received from the wearable device 2000. As another example,the wireless communication device 1000 may determine whether the motioncondition is satisfied for a predetermined time from the time point atwhich the above-described signal is received from the wearable device2000. The time point of determining whether the motion condition issatisfied will be described in more detail below.

When it is determined that the motion condition is satisfied, thewireless communication device 1000 may determine whether the ambientlight condition is satisfied, as will be described below. Alternatively,when it is determined that the motion condition is not satisfied, thewireless communication device 1000 may control the sensor unit 1100 sothat the motion sensor 1110 is operated in a low power mode, the motionsensor 1110 is turned off, or whether the motion condition is satisfiedis determined by re-obtaining the motion value from the motion sensor1110.

The wireless communication device 1000 may obtain the ambient lightvalue from the ambient light sensor 1120 (S1300). The ambient lightvalue may be interpreted as a value of data reflecting the ambient lightof the object to which the wireless communication device 1000 isattached by reflecting the ambient light of the wireless communicationdevice 1000. In order to determine whether the medication adherence ofthe user starts, the ambient light of the object or the illuminancearound the object may be checked.

Referring to FIG. 11, the object may be located in various places andthe ambient light of the object may also be changed in various ways.

For example, the object may be stored in a bag or storage box forstorage, and the user may go out with a bag or storage box in which theobject is stored when going out. In this case, the ambient light of theobject may be relatively dark.

Meanwhile, generally, when the user performs the medication adherence,the object may be located in a relatively bright place, and when theuser does not perform the medication adherence, the object may belocated in a relatively dark place. However, even when the user performsthe medication adherence, the object may be located in the relativelydark place.

The wireless communication device 1000 may determine whether the ambientlight value satisfies the ambient light condition (S1400). The wirelesscommunication device 1000 may determine whether the ambient lightcondition related to the ambient light of the object is satisfied inorder to check whether an environment for the medication adherence ofthe user is generated.

Here, the ambient light condition may be interpreted as a condition forrecognizing a case in which the user does not perform the medicationadherence. For example, as described above, in the case in which theuser goes out with the bag in which the object is stored, even when theuser does not perform the medication adherence, the object may be movedin the same manner as the case in which the user performs the medicationadherence. In this case, the wireless communication device 1000 maycheck whether the motion condition is satisfied as well as whether theambient light condition is satisfied to determine whether the userperforms the medication adherence. Specifically, the ambient lightcondition may include a condition in which the ambient light value isgreater than or equal to the ambient light threshold value. Here, theambient light threshold value may be set in consideration of abrightness value that should be secured when medication adherence isperformed, a brightness value that should be secured for medicationclassification, an average brightness value that secures a person'sfield of view, or the like.

Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 11, even when there is no lightingaround the object and the place is relatively dark, the user may performthe medication adherence. In consideration of such a situation, theabove-described ambient light threshold value may be set to be very low.

The step S1400 of determining whether the ambient light value satisfiesthe ambient light condition may be performed at a specific time point orat a specific time interval. As an example, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may determine whether the ambient light condition issatisfied at a time point at which the motion condition is satisfied. Asanother example, the wireless communication device 1000 may determinewhether the ambient light condition is satisfied for predetermined timeperiod from the time point at which the motion condition is satisfied.The time point of determining whether the ambient light condition issatisfied will be described in more detail below.

When it is determined that the ambient light condition is satisfied, thewireless communication device 1000 may generate or change activationdata as will be described below. Alternatively, when it is determinedthat the ambient light condition is not satisfied, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may control the sensor unit 1100 so that themotion sensor 1110 and/or the ambient light sensor 1120 are/is operatedin a low power mode as will be described below, the motion sensor 1110and/or the ambient light sensor 1120 are/is turned off, whether themotion condition is satisfied is determined by obtaining the motionvalue from the motion sensor 1110, or whether the ambient lightcondition is satisfied is determined by re-obtaining the ambient lightvalue from the ambient light sensor 1120.

Even when the motion condition is satisfied, when the ambient lightcondition is not satisfied through the step S1400 of determining whetherthe ambient light value satisfies the ambient light condition, thewireless communication device 1000 may not generate activation data.Accordingly, even when the object is moved, the situation (e.g., in thecase in which the user moves with a bag including the object when goingout) in which the medication adherence is not performed may bedistinguished. As a result, it is possible to prevent the camera module2100 of the wearable device 2000 from being indiscriminately activated,and furthermore, to protect the privacy of the user or others.

The wireless communication device 1000 may transmit the activation data(S1500). The wireless communication device 1000 may generate or changethe activation data according to a method of transmitting or receivingdata with the wearable device 2000. A method of transmitting theactivation data from the wireless communication device 1000 to thewearable device 2000 will be described in detail below.

Meanwhile, the order in which the above-described steps S1100 to S1400are performed may be changed. As an example, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may obtain the ambient light value from the ambient lightsensor 1120 to determine whether the ambient light condition issatisfied, and when it is determined that the ambient light condition issatisfied, the wireless communication device 1000 may obtain the motionvalue from the motion sensor 1110 to determine whether the motion valuesatisfies the motion condition, and when it is determined that themotion condition is satisfied, the wireless communication device 1000may transmit the activation data. As another example, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may obtain the motion value and the ambientlight value using the motion sensor 1110 and the ambient light sensor1120, and when it is determined that the obtained motion value satisfiesthe motion condition, the wireless communication device 1000 maydetermine whether the ambient light value satisfies the ambient lightcondition, and when it is determined that the ambient light condition issatisfied, the wireless communication device 1000 may transmit theactivation data.

On the other hand, at least one of the above-described steps S1100 toS1400 may be omitted. For example, the step S1300 of obtaining theambient light value from the ambient light sensor 1120 and the stepS1400 of determining whether the ambient light value satisfies theambient light condition may be omitted. In other words, when it isdetermined that the motion value obtained by using the motion sensor1110 satisfies the motion condition, the wireless communication device1000 may generate activation data and transmit the activation data,thereby setting a time point at which the video shooting starts.

In this case, the motion condition may be set in consideration of thefact that specific movements of the user are sequentially performedduring the medication adherence process.

For example, the motion condition may be set as a first condition inwhich the gyro value becomes greater than or equal to the gyro thresholdvalue after the acceleration value becomes greater than or equal to theacceleration threshold value. The first condition may be a conditioncorresponding to a case in which the user rotates the object to whichthe wireless communication device 1000 is attached in order to take themedication out thereof after moving the object in performing themedication adherence.

As another example, the motion condition may be set as a secondcondition in which the acceleration value becomes greater than or equalto the acceleration threshold value after the gyro value becomes greaterthan or equal to the gyro threshold value. The second condition may be acondition corresponding to a case in which the user moves the objectafter rotating a portion of the object to which the wirelesscommunication device 1000 is attached in order to take the medicationout of the object in performing the medication adherence.

As still another example, the motion condition may be set as a thirdcondition in which each of an amount of instantaneous change inacceleration value, an amount of change in acceleration value in apreset time interval, an amount of instantaneous change in gyro value,and/or an amount of change in gyro value in a preset time intervalbecomes greater than or equal to a corresponding threshold value.

Meanwhile, the motion condition may be set by combining at least two ofthe first condition, the second condition, and the third conditiondescribed above.

Hereinafter, a method of transmitting activation data in the wirelesscommunication device 1000 will be described in detail with reference toFIGS. 12 to 14.

FIGS. 12 to 14 are diagrams illustrating processes of transmitting orreceiving data in the medication adherence monitoring system 100according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 12, the wireless communication device 1000 maytransmit the activation data to the wearable device 2000 when theabove-described motion condition and/or ambient light condition are/issatisfied. Hereinafter, the process in which the activation data istransmitted from the wireless communication device 1000 to the wearabledevice 2000 will be described in more detail.

The wireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 mayexchange data after being connected to each other. Specifically, thewireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 may beconnected to each other, the wireless communication device 1000 maytransmit a signal to the wearable device 2000 at a preset period, andthe wearable device 2000 may transmit a signal to the wirelesscommunication device 1000 at a preset period.

Here, when the wearable device 2000 requests connection confirm from thewireless communication device 1000, a signal T may be a connectionacknowledge signal or a data signal, a signal R may be a connectionacknowledge request signal or a reception acknowledge signal indicatingthat the signal transmitted from the wireless communication device 1000is received. The reception acknowledge signal might be also interpretedas a reception confirm signal which indicates confirmation of thereception.

Alternatively, when the wireless communication device 1000 requestsconnection confirm from the wearable device 2000, the signal T may be aconnection acknowledge request signal or a data signal, and the signal Rmay be a connection acknowledge signal or a reception acknowledge signalindicating that the signal T is received.

Hereinafter, as the case in which the wearable device 2000 requests theconnection confirm from the wireless communication device 1000, a casein which the wearable device 2000 transmits the connection acknowledgerequest signal or the reception acknowledge signal to the wirelesscommunication device 1000 and the wireless communication device 1000transmits the connection acknowledge signal or the data signal to thewearable device 2000 will be mainly described. However, thetechnological concept of the present invention is not limited thereto,and the above process may also be similarly applied to the case in whichthe wireless communication device 1000 requests the connection confirmfrom the wearable device 2000.

When the wireless communication device 1000 receives the signal R, thewireless communication device 1000 may obtain a motion value using themotion sensor 1110. As an example, when the first control unit 1400receives the connection acknowledge request signal from the wearabledevice 2000, the first control unit 1400 may turn on or activate themotion sensor 1110 to periodically or temporarily obtain the motionvalue using the motion sensor 1110. As another example, when the firstcontrol unit 1400 receives the reception acknowledge signal from thewearable device 2000, the first control unit 1400 may turn on oractivate the motion sensor 1110.

When the motion condition is satisfied, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may obtain an ambient light value using the ambient lightsensor 1120. For example, when the motion value obtained by using themotion sensor 1110 becomes greater than or equal to the motion thresholdvalue, the first control unit 1400 may turn on or activate the ambientlight sensor 1110 to periodically or temporarily obtain the ambientlight value using the ambient light sensor 1120.

Meanwhile, when the wireless communication device 1000 receives thesignal R from the wearable device 2000, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may obtain the motion value and the ambient light valueusing the motion sensor 1110 and the ambient light sensor 1120. Forexample, when the first control unit 1400 receives the connectionacknowledge request signal from the wearable device 2000, the firstcontrol unit 1400 may turn on or activate the motion sensor 1110 and theambient light sensor 1120 to periodically or temporarily obtain themotion value and the ambient light value using the motion sensor 1110and the ambient light sensor 1120.

When the motion condition and/or the ambient light condition are/issatisfied, the wireless communication device 1000 may generateactivation data. As an example, when the motion value is greater than orequal to the motion threshold value and the ambient light value isgreater than or equal to the ambient light threshold value, the firstcontrol unit 1400 may generate the activation data instructingactivation of the camera module 2100 of the wearable device 2000 toallow the activation data to be included in a data signal transmitted tothe wearable device 2000. As another example, when the motion value isgreater than or equal to the motion threshold value or the ambient lightvalue is greater than or equal to the ambient light threshold value, thefirst control unit 1400 may generate the activation data instructingactivation of the camera module 2100 of the wearable device 2000 toallow the activation data to be included in the data signal transmittedto the wearable device 2000. Here, the activation data may be includedin a data payload of the data signal. Furthermore, the data payload ofthe data signal may include the motion value and/or the ambient lightvalue in addition to the activation data. Here, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may transmit the data signal together with theconnection acknowledge signal, transmit the data signal instead of theconnection acknowledge signal, or transmit the data signal separatelyfrom the connection acknowledge signal, to the wearable device 2000.

In other words, only when there is a need to shoot a video, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may generate the activation data to transmitthe activation data to the wearable device 2000. When there is no needto shoot the video, the wireless communication device 1000 may notgenerate the activation data and, accordingly, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may transmit the data to the wearable device2000 more rapidly.

Meanwhile, the wireless communication device 1000 may transmit anactivation signal to the wearable device 2000. For example, when themotion condition and/or the ambient light condition are/is satisfied,the wireless communication device 1000 may transmit the activationsignal to the wearable device 2000. Here, the activation signal mayrefer to a signal obtained by changing some values of data included in asignal (e.g., the connection acknowledge signal) which is transmittedfrom the wireless communication device 1000 to the wearable device 2000.

The above description may be similarly applied even when the motionsensor 1110 of the wireless communication device 1000 includes aplurality of sensors and sensed values are obtained at different timepoints. For example, referring to FIG. 13, the motion sensor 1110 mayinclude an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor. In this case, when thewireless communication device 1000 receives the connection acknowledgerequest signal or the reception acknowledge signal from the wearabledevice 2000, the wireless communication device 1000 may turn on oractivate the gyro sensor. When the gyro value obtained by using the gyrosensor is greater than or equal to the gyro threshold value, thewireless communication device 1000 may turn on or activate theacceleration sensor, when the acceleration value obtained by using theacceleration sensor is greater than or equal to the accelerationthreshold value, the wireless communication device 1000 may turn on oractivate the ambient light sensor, and when the ambient light valueobtained by using the ambient light sensor is greater than or equal tothe ambient light threshold value, the wireless communication device1000 may generate activation data instructing activation of the cameramodule 2100 of the wearable device 2000 to allow the activation data tobe included in the data signal transmitted to the wearable device 2000.

Meanwhile, the wireless communication device 1000 may transmitactivation data and deactivation data to the wearable device 2000. Forexample, referring to FIG. 14, when the motion condition and/or theambient light condition are/is not satisfied, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may transmit a data signal including the deactivation datato the wearable device 2000, and when the motion condition and/or theambient light condition are/is satisfied, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may transmit a data signal including the activation data tothe wearable device 2000. Here, the deactivation data and the activationdata may be included in the data payload of the data signal andexpressed as a specific value (e.g., 0 or 1).

Meanwhile, the wireless communication device 1000 may obtain the sensedvalue from the sensor unit 1100 on the basis of the time point at whichthe signal is transmitted to the wearable device 2000. For example, whenthe first control unit 1400 transmits the connection acknowledge signalto the wearable device 2000, the first control unit 1400 may turn on oractivate the sensor unit 1100 to obtain the sensed value, generateactivation data on the basis of the obtained sensed value, and providethe activation data to the wearable device 2000.

The wireless communication device 1000 may provide the additional datato the wearable device 2000. For example, the first control unit 1400may provide identification data, manufacturer data, motion data, ambientlight data, and/or transmission strength data in addition to theactivation data to the second control unit 2500 through the firstcommunication unit 1300. The above additional data may be transmitted tothe wearable device 2000 using the above-described data signal, and thewearable device 2000 may determine whether the camera module 2100 isactivated by using the additional data. A method of using the additionaldata in the wearable device 2000 will be described below.

Hereinafter, an operating state of the wireless communication device1000 will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 to 17. In themedication adherence monitoring system 100, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 needs to be operated each time the user performs themedication adherence, and thus the battery needs to be efficientlymanaged. As will be described below, by operating the wirelesscommunication device 1000 in various states, power consumption occurringin the wireless communication device 1000 may be reduced and theefficiency of the battery may be improved.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an operating state of a wirelesscommunication device 1000 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 15, the wireless communication device 1000 may beoperated in a sleep state, a standby state, or an awake state.

The wireless communication device 1000 may wait for connection with thewearable device 2000 in a standby state. As an example, the firstcontrol unit 1400 may operate the sensor unit 1100 in theabove-described low power mode and may not obtain the sensed value ormay obtain the sensed value in a period greater than or equal to apreset period. As another example, the sensor unit 1100 may not detectthe movement of the wireless communication device 1000 or the ambientlight of the wireless communication device 1000. Further, in the sleepstate, the first control unit 1400 may provide minimum power with whichthe sensor unit 1100 may not be turned off to the sensor unit 1100. Thewireless communication device 1000 may be driven with relatively lowpower in the sleep state.

The wireless communication device 1000 may monitor the movement of thewireless communication device 1000 or an environment around the wirelesscommunication device 1000 in the standby state. For example, thewireless communication device 1000 may obtain the sensed value byactivating the sensor unit 1100 in the standby state. Specifically, thefirst control unit 1400 may obtain the motion value and the ambientlight value by activating the motion sensor 1110 and the ambient lightsensor 1120 in the standby state.

On the other hand, the wireless communication device 1000 may obtain thesensed value by activating at least a part of the sensor unit 1100 inthe standby state. For example, the first control unit 1400 may activatea part of the sensor unit 1100 and may not activate another part of thesensor unit 1100. Specifically, the first control unit 1400 may activatethe motion sensor 1110 and may not activate the ambient light sensor1120.

Further, the wireless communication device 1000 may operate the sensorunit 1100 in a low power mode or a normal mode in the standby state. Forexample, the first control unit 1400 may operate a part of the sensorunit 1100 in the normal mode and operate another part of the sensor unit1100 in the low power mode in the standby state. Specifically, the firstcontrol unit 1400 may operate the motion sensor 1110 in the normal modeand operate the ambient light sensor 1120 in the low power mode in thestandby state. In this case, when the above-described motion conditionis satisfied, the first control unit 1400 may operate the ambient lightsensor 1120 in the normal mode.

As described above, only a part of the sensor unit 1100 may beselectively activated or operated in the normal mode, and thus theefficiency of the battery of the wireless communication device 1000 maybe improved.

The wireless communication device 1000 may determine whether it isnecessary to initiate shooting the video, in the awake state. Forexample, the first control unit 1400 may determine whether it isnecessary to initiate shooting the video on the basis of the sensedvalue of the sensor unit 1100, and when it is determined that it isnecessary to initiate shooting the video, the first control unit 1400may generate activation data to provide the activation data to thewearable device 2000. More specifically, when the above-described motioncondition and/or ambient light condition are/is satisfied in the awakestate, the first control unit 1400 may generate the activation data toprovide the activation data to the wearable device 2000.

The wireless communication device 1000 may activate at least somesensors of the sensor unit 1100 in the awake state. For example, whenthe wireless communication device 1000 activates the motion sensor 1110in the sleep state or the standby state, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may activate the ambient light sensor 1120 in the awakestate.

The operation state of the wireless communication device 1000 may bechanged from the sleep state to the standby state. For example, when thewireless communication device 1000 is paired with or connected to thewearable device 2000 while being operated in the sleep state, thewireless communication device 1000 may be operated in the standby state.Specifically, when the wireless communication device 1000 and thewearable device 2000 are located within a preset distance and the firstcontrol unit 1400 receives a scan request signal, a connect requestsignal, a connection acknowledge request signal, or a connectionacknowledge signal from the wearable device 2000 while being operated inthe sleep state, the first control unit 1400 may be operated in thestandby state. Such a change in the operation state may be understood tobe in order to prepare for more rapidly detection of the movement of thewireless communication device 1000 or the environment around thewireless communication device 1000 when the user who wears the wearabledevice 2000 approaches the wireless communication device 1000 in themedication adherence of the user.

The operation state of the wireless communication device 1000 may bechanged from the standby state to the awake state. For example, when thesensed value obtained by the first control unit 1400 using the sensorunit 1100 is greater than or equal to a threshold value, the firstcontrol unit 1400 may be operated in the awake state. Specifically, whenthe motion value obtained by the first control unit 1400 using themotion sensor 1110 in the standby state is greater than or equal to themotion threshold value, the first control unit 1400 may be operated inthe awake state and may activate the ambient light sensor 1120 or obtainthe ambient light value using the ambient light sensor to determinewhether it is necessary to initiate shooting the video. Such a change inthe operation state may be understood to be in order for more rapidlydetermining whether it is necessary to initiate shooting the videoaccording to the movement of the object containing the medication whilethe user performs the medication adherence.

The operation state of the wireless communication device 1000 may bechanged from the awake state to the standby state. As an example, whenthe first control unit 1400 transmits the activation data to thewearable device 2000, the first control unit 1400 may change theoperation state from the awake state to the standby state. As anotherexample, when a predetermined awake time has elapsed, the first controlunit 1400 may change the operation state from the awake state to thestandby state. As still another example, when the first control unit1400 determines whether it is necessary to initiate shooting the video,the first control unit 1400 may change the operation state from theawake state to the standby state. Such a change in the operation stateis to prevent unnecessary power consumption because it is not necessaryto make the same determination again after determining whether it isnecessary to initiate shooting the video.

The operation state of the wireless communication device 1000 may bechanged from the standby state to the sleep state. For example, when thepairing or connection between the wireless communication device 1000 andthe wearable device 2000 is released, the first control unit 1400 maychange the operation state from the standby state to the sleep state.More specifically, when the first control unit 1400 does not receive aconnection acknowledge signal, a connection acknowledge request signal,or a scan request signal from the wearable device 2000 for apredetermined time while being operated in the standby state, the firstcontrol unit 1400 may change the operation state from the standby stateto the sleep state. Such a change in the operation state is to minimizepower consumption of the wireless communication device 1000 when thepairing or connection between the wireless communication device 1000 andthe wearable device 2000 is released.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may change the operation state as followsaccording to the medication adherence of the user.

When the wireless communication device 1000 does not communicate withthe wearable device 2000, the wireless communication device 1000 may beoperated in the sleep state. For example, when the user who wears thewearable device 2000 is located beyond a specific distance from theobject to which the wireless communication device 1000 is attached andthe wireless communication device 1000 is not able to communicate withthe wearable device 2000, the wireless communication device 1000 may beoperated in the sleep state in order to reduce power consumption. Inother words, the case in which the wireless communication device 1000 isoperated in the sleep state may correspond to a situation before theuser performs the medication adherence or a situation in which the useris away from the object after the medication adherence is performed.

When the wireless communication device 1000 transmits or receives datato or from the wearable device 2000, the wireless communication device1000 may be operated in a standby state. For example, when the user whowears the wearable device 2000 is located within a specific distancefrom the object to which the wireless communication device 1000 isattached and the wireless communication device 1000 is able tocommunicate with the wearable device 2000, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may obtain the sensed value from the sensor unit 1100 inorder to detect the movement of the object. The case in which thewireless communication device 1000 is operated in the standby state maycorrespond to a situation in which the user approaches the object toperform the medication adherence.

When the sensed value is greater than or equal to the sensor thresholdvalue, the wireless communication device 1000 may be operated in theawake state. For example, when the motion value obtained from the motionsensor 1110 according to the movement of the object is greater than orequal to the motion threshold value, the wireless communication device1000 may obtain the ambient light value from the ambient light sensor1120, and when the ambient light value is greater than or equal to theambient light threshold value, the wireless communication device 1000may generate the activation data to transmit the activation data to thewearable device 2000. The case in which the wireless communicationdevice 1000 is operated in the awake state may correspond to a situationin which the user initiates the medication adherence and needs to shoota video.

In the above, the method of transmitting or receiving the data throughthe pairing process and the connection process with the wearable device2000 by the wireless communication device 1000 has been described.

On the other hand, the wireless communication device 1000 may transmitthe data to the wearable device 2000 without the above-described pairingprocess and the connection process with the wearable device 2000, and adescription thereof will be given with reference to FIG. 16.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a method of transmitting data to thewearable device 2000 by the wireless communication device 1000 accordingto the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 16, the wireless communication device 1000 maytransmit the data to the wearable device 2000 through a step S310 ofdetecting the movement of the wireless communication device 1000, a stepS320 of determining whether it is necessary to shoot a video, a stepS330 of transmitting a data signal to the outside, and a step S340 ofreceiving, by the wearable device 2000, the data.

Hereinafter, each operation will be described in detail.

The wireless communication device 1000 may detect its own movement(S310). For example, the first control unit 1400 may obtain a sensedvalue reflecting the movement of the wireless communication device 1000using the motion sensor 1110. In this case, the first control unit 1400may operate the motion sensor 1110 of the sensor unit 1100 in a normalmode and operate the ambient light sensor 1120 in a low power modebefore obtaining the sensed value.

The wireless communication device 1000 may determine whether it isnecessary to shoot the video (S320). For example, the first control unit1400 may determine whether it is necessary to shoot the video on thebasis of whether a motion sensed value and a sensed ambient light valueobtained from the motion sensor 1110 and the ambient light sensor 1120are greater than or equal to a motion threshold value and a ambientlight threshold value, respectively. Here, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may operate the ambient light sensor 1120 in the normal modein order to obtain the sensed ambient light value. The determination ofwhether it is necessary to shoot the video is the same as the contentdescribed in FIG. 9, and duplicate content will be omitted. When it isdetermined that it is necessary to shoot the video, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may generate activation data.

The wireless communication device 1000 may transmit the data signal tothe outside (S330). For example, when it is determined that it isnecessary to shoot the video, the first control unit 1400 may generatethe data signal to transmit it to the outside. In this case, the datasignal transmitted from the wireless communication device 1000 may nottarget only the wearable device 2000 and may be received by not only thewearable device 2000 but also another external device.

Here, the wireless communication device 1000 may use a data signalhaving the above-described advertising channel packet structure or datachannel packet structure. As an example, the data signal transmitted tothe outside by the first control unit 1400 may have the advertisingchannel packet structure and, in this case, the activation data may beincluded in the advertising payload. As another example, the data signaltransmitted to the outside by the first control unit 1400 may have thedata channel packet structure and, in this case, the activation data maybe included in the data payload.

The wearable device 2000 may receive the data signal transmitted fromthe wireless communication device 1000. For example, the wearable device2000 may receive the data signal by periodically receiving an externalsignal in a frequency band including a frequency of the data signaltransmitted from the wireless communication device 1000.

Meanwhile, the wearable device 2000 may use an access address, anadvertiser address, and/or a UUID included in the received data signalin order to determine whether the received data signal is the datasignal transmitted from the wireless communication device 1000.

The above-described methods of transmitting or receiving data betweenthe wireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 mayminimize user intervention in the medication adherence monitoring system100. In other words, when the user performs the medication adherence,the video of the user who performs the medication adherence may be shotby the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000without additional manipulation, and whether the user performs themedication adherence may be automatically determined based on the video.

Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, themedication adherence monitoring system 100 may be implemented by usinguser intervention. As an example, the wireless communication device 1000may include an input module capable of receiving an user inputexternally, a wireless user may provide the user input through the inputmodule of the wireless communication device 1000 when performing themedication adherence, and the wireless communication device 1000 maytransmit the activation data to the wearable device 2000 on the basis ofthe received user input. Here, the input module may be implemented as aphysical pressing button, a touch panel, or a gesture recognitionmodule. As another example, the wearable device 2000 may receive theuser input through the input/output unit 2200 and activate the cameramodule 2100 on the basis of the user input.

As described above, when the user input is used in the medicationadherence monitoring system 100, a time point at which the video of theuser who performs the medication adherence is shot may be clearly set,and thus the accuracy of the medication adherence monitoring system 100may be improved.

Hereinafter, the operation of the wearable device 2000 in the medicationadherence monitoring system 100 will be described with reference toFIGS. 17 and 18.

FIGS. 17 and 18 are diagrams illustrating an operation process of thewearable device 2000 in the medication adherence monitoring system 100according to the embodiment of the present invention.

In the medication adherence monitoring system 100, the wearable device2000 may shoot a video related to the medication adherence of the userto provide the shot video to the server 3000. In the wearable device2000, functions such as a function of shooting a video using the signalsreceived from the wireless communication device 1000, a function oftransmitting video data obtained by shooting the video to the server3000, and a function of preventing the video from indiscriminately beingshot in situations other than the situation in which the user performsthe medication adherence may be treated as important.

Referring to FIG. 17, the wearable device 2000 may perform a step S2100of receiving a data signal from the wireless communication device 1000,a step S2200 of checking whether activation data is included in the datasignal, and a step S2300 of activating the camera module 2100.

Hereinafter, each operation will be described in detail.

The wearable device 2000 may receive the data signal from the wirelesscommunication device 1000 (S2100). For example, the second control unit2500 may receive the data signal from the wireless communication device1000 using the second communication unit 2400. Here, the wearable device2000 may perform the above-described pairing process and/or connectionprocess in order to receive the data signal from the wirelesscommunication device 1000 or may periodically receive a signal of aspecific frequency band. In addition, here, the data signal may refer tothe data signal described in step S240 and, furthermore, may refer tothe above-described advertising signal, scan response signal, connectionacknowledge signal, and/or connection acknowledge request signal.

The wearable device 2000 may check whether the received data signal isthe data signal received from the wireless communication device 1000.For example, the second control unit 2500 may compare access address,advertising address, and/or general unique identification informationincluded in the received data signal with information pre-stored in thesecond memory 2300 to identify a subject that has transmitted the datasignal. In this case, when the identified transmission subject isunclear or is not a data transmission/reception target, the wearabledevice 2000 may ignore the received data signal.

The wearable device 2000 may determine whether the activation data isincluded in the received data signal (S2200). For example, when it isdetermined that the activation data instructing activation of the cameramodule 2100 is included in the received data signal, the second controlunit 2500 may activate the camera module 2100 as will be describedbelow, and when it is determined that the activation data is notincluded, the second control unit 2500 may ignore the received datasignal. Specifically, when it is determined that the activation data isincluded in a data payload of the received data signal, the secondcontrol unit 2500 may activate the camera module 2100, and when it isdetermined that the activation data is not included or the deactivationdata is included, the second control unit 2500 may not activate thecamera module 2100.

Meanwhile, in the case of the medication adherence monitoring system 100implemented so that the wireless communication device 1000 transmits anactivation signal to the wearable device 2000 only when the motioncondition and the ambient light condition are satisfied, the secondcontrol unit 2500 may activate the camera module 2100 upon receiving theactivation signal.

The wearable device 2000 may activate the camera module 2100 (S2300).For example, the second control unit 2500 may start shooting a video byactivating the camera module 2100.

Referring to FIG. 18, the wearable device 2000 may perform a step S2400of obtaining video data during an imaging time, a step S2500 ofproviding a notification, a step S2600 of deactivating the camera module2100, a step S2700 of processing video data, and a step S2800 oftransmitting the video data to the server 3000.

Hereinafter, each operation will be described in detail.

The wearable device 2000 may obtain the video data during the imagingtime (S2400). For example, when the second control unit 2500 receivesthe activation data from the wireless communication device 1000, thesecond control unit 2500 may obtain the video data by activating thecamera module 2100 and shooting the video during an imaging time whichis set in a method which will be described below.

The imaging time may be set in various methods.

For example, the imaging time may be set long enough so that auxiliaryactions, such as taking the medication out of the object, injecting themedication into the body, and/or drinking water for the medicationadherence, may be photographed during the process in which the userperforms the medication adherence. For example, the imaging time may beset in consideration of a time point at which the user performs themedication adherence. Specifically, the imaging time may be set within arange of 5 seconds to 300 seconds. Preferably, the imaging time may beset to 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 40seconds, 60 seconds, 90 seconds, 120 seconds, 150 seconds, 180 seconds,210 seconds, 240 seconds, 270 seconds, 300 seconds, etc.

As another example, the imaging time may be set differently according tothe type of medication adherence of the user. For example, the imagingtime may be set based on the data signal received from the wirelesscommunication device 1000. Specifically, the wearable device 2000 mayidentity the type of the wireless communication device 1000 on the basisof the access address, the advertising address, the general uniqueidentification information, and/or the information included in theadvertising payload or the data payload, which are included in the datasignal received from the wireless communication device 1000, maydetermine the type of medication adherence of the user according to theidentified type of the wireless communication device 1000, and set theimaging time to correspond to the type of medication adherence of theuser. In this case, information about the type of medication adherencemay be pre-stored in the wearable device 2000 or may be included in thedata received from the server 3000.

As described above, by variously setting the imaging time, the videodata related to at least a part or most of the process of the medicationadherence of the user in the medication adherence monitoring system 100may be secured.

Meanwhile, the imaging time may be set relatively short in order tosecure only the video data related to a part of the process of themedication adherence of the user. For example, the imaging time may beset to secure only the video data related to a first half process (e.g.,a process of taking the medication out of the object, a process ofputting the medication in the user's hand, a process of bringing themedication to the user's mouth, and/or a process of putting themedication into the user's mouth) of the process of the medicationadherence of the user. In this case, the video shooting may be minimizedto prevent video data that infringes on the privacy of the user orsurroundings from being obtained, and to reduce an amount of heatgenerated due to the amount of data transmission when the video data istransmitted to the server 3000 later.

The wearable device 2000 may provide a notification (S2500). Forexample, the second control unit 2500 may provide the notification tothe user through the input/output unit 2200 while activating the cameramodule 2100.

The notification may include an activation notification indicating thatthe camera module 2100 is activated, a shooting notification indicatingthat a video is shot by the camera module 2100, and/or a deactivationnotification indicating that the camera module 2100 is deactivated dueto the end of the camera shooting. In this case, the activationnotification, the shooting notification, and/or the deactivationnotification may be implemented in the same way or in different ways.

The notification may be provided visually, audibly, tactilely, or acombination thereof and may be provided temporarily or periodically. Asan example, the notification may be provided to the user using a displayof the wearable device 2000. As another example, the notification may beprovided to the user through a beep sound or vibration using a speakerof the wearable device 2000.

The above-described notification is provided to the user from thewearable device 200, and thus the user may determine whether the videois shot in the wearable device 2000 and may take measures such asdeactivating the camera module 2100 through a user input when the videois being shot unnecessarily.

Meanwhile, the above-described step S2500 of providing the notificationmay be omitted.

The wearable device 2000 may deactivate the camera module 2100 (S2600).For example, the second control unit 2500 may deactivate the cameramodule 2100 when the imaging time has elapsed after activating thecamera module 2100.

The wearable device 2000 may process the video data (S2700). Forexample, the second control unit 2500 may delete part of the video dataor add data to the video data before transmitting the video data to theserver 3000. Specifically, the second control unit 2500 may process thevideo data through correction, such as deleting a frame determined tohave a privacy invasion problem among the video data obtained throughvideo shooting or lowering the resolution. Alternatively, the secondcontrol unit 2500 may delete part of the video data in order to reducean amount of data transmitted to the server 3000.

The step S2700 of processing the video data may be omitted.

The wearable device 2000 may transmit the video data to the server 3000(S2800). For example, the second control unit 2500 may transmit thevideo data obtained through the video shooting or the processed videodata to the server 3000 using the second communication unit 2400.

A time point at which the wearable device 2000 transmits the video datato the server 3000 may be variously set. As an example, the secondcontrol unit 2500 may transmit the video data to the server 3000 withina predetermined time from a time point at which the camera module 2100is deactivated or a time point at which the video data is processed. Asanother example, the second control unit 2500 may transmit the videodata to the server 3000 right after obtaining the video data. As stillanother example, the second control unit 2500 may provide the video datato the server 3000 after at least a waiting time has elapsed from thetime point at which the camera module 2100 is deactivated or the timepoint at which the video data is processed. Here, the waiting time maybe interpreted as a time required for the wearable device 2000 to lowera temperature increased due to heat generated by the video shooting inthe wearable device 2000 to a certain temperature range (e.g., roomtemperature). For example, the waiting time may be set within a range of5 seconds to 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, the wearable device 2000 may inquire whether to transmit thevideo data of the user before transmitting the video data to the server3000. For example, the second control unit 2500 may output an inquirymessage related to whether to transmit the video data to the userthrough the input/output unit 2200 in consideration of a time point ofreceiving the activation data, a time point of obtaining the video data,a previous time point of performing the medication adherence, and/or ascheduled time point of performing the medication adherence of the user.Specifically, when the time point of receiving the activation data andthe time point of obtaining the video data are within a preset time fromthe previous time point of performing the medication adherence or areout of an error range from the scheduled time point of performing themedication adherence of the user, the second control unit 2500 mayoutput the inquiry message.

The wearable device 2000 may or may not transmit the video data to theserver 3000 according to the user response to the inquiry message.

The wearable device 2000 may delete the video data. For example, thesecond control unit 2500 may delete the video data stored in the secondmemory 2300 after transmitting the video data to the server 3000. Inthis case, the second control unit 2500 may delete the video data afterreceiving a video data reception acknowledge message from the server3000, and when the second control unit 2500 does not receive the videodata reception acknowledge message or receives an unreceived messagefrom the server 3000, the second control unit 2500 may re-transmit thevideo data to the server 3000.

In the above, the case in which the activation data obtained from thewireless communication device 1000 is used when the wearable device 2000activates the camera module 2100 has been mainly described.

Meanwhile, even when the wireless communication device 1000 determinesthat it is necessary to shoot the video, the user may not perform themedication adherence. In order to prevent the user from shooting thevideo when the user does not perform the medication adherence, thewearable device 2000 may determine whether it is necessary toadditionally shoot a video. In other words, even though the user is at acertain distance from the object regardless of the medication adherence,when the object moves by another person or by sliding, etc., thewireless communication device 1000 may detect the movement of the objectand transmit a signal instructing activation of the camera module 2100by the wearable device 1000. Therefore, the wearable device 2000 may ormay not activate the camera module 2100 by determining whether it isnecessary to additionally shoot the video.

Hereinafter, the process of determining whether it is necessary to shootthe video prior to the activation of the camera module 2100 in thewearable device 2000 will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 21.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a process of activating the cameramodule 2100 using signal strength in the wearable device 2000 accordingto the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating signal strength according to adistance between the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearabledevice 2000 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating the strength of a signal received bythe wearable device 2000 according to a place where the wirelesscommunication device 1000 according to the embodiment of the presentinvention is located.

Referring to FIG. 19, the wearable device 2000 may perform a step S2100of receiving a data signal from the wireless communication device 1000,a step S2210 of determining whether activation data is included in thedata signal, a step S2220 of determining whether the strength of asignal obtained from the wireless communication device is included in arange of signal strength, and a step S2300 of activating the cameramodule 2100.

Here, the range of signal strength may refer to a range of receptionstrength of the signal received from the wireless communication device1000 for activating the camera module 2100 by the wearable device 2000.For example, even when the wearable device 2000 obtains the activationdata from the wireless communication device 1000, when the receptionstrength of the signal received from the wireless communication device1000 is not included in the range of signal strength, the wearabledevice 2000 may not activate the camera module 2100.

Hereinafter, each operation will be described in detail.

Meanwhile, since the step S2100 of receiving the data signal from thewireless communication device 1000 and the step S2300 of activating thecamera module 2100 in the wearable device 2000 are the same as thosedescribed in FIG. 16, duplicate content will be omitted.

The wearable device 2000 may determine whether the activation data isincluded in the received data signal (S2210). Since the present stepS2210 is the same as the step S2200 described in FIG. 16, duplicatecontent will be omitted.

The wearable device 2000 may determine whether the strength of thesignal received from the wireless communication device 1000 is includedin the range of signal strength (S2220). For example, the second controlunit 2500 may determine whether a received signal strength indicator(RSSI) value of the signal received from the wireless communicationdevice 1000 is within the range of signal strength. When it isdetermined that the RSSI value is included in the range of signalstrength, the process may proceed to the step S2300 of activating thecamera module 2100, and when it is determined that the RSSI value is notincluded in the range of signal strength, the activation data obtainedfrom the wireless communication device 1000 may be ignored.

Here, the signal received from the wireless communication device 1000may include at least one of the above-described advertising signal, scanresponse signal, connection acknowledge signal, connection acknowledgerequest signal, and/or data signal. As an example, the wearable device2000 may determine whether the RSSI value of the advertising signalreceived from the wireless communication device 1000 is within the rangeof signal strength. As another example, the wearable device 2000 maydetermine whether the RSSI value of the data signal received from thewireless communication device 1000 is within the range of signalstrength. As still another example, the wearable device 2000 maydetermine whether the strength of each of the signals received from thewireless communication device 1000 or an average value thereof is withinthe range of signal strength in a preset time interval from the timepoint at which the data signal is received from the wirelesscommunication device 1000.

The range of signal strength may be set in consideration of the signalstrength according to the distance between the wireless communicationdevice 1000 and the wearable device 2000. Specifically, the range ofsignal strength may be set in consideration of a change in the signalstrength corresponding to a change in the distance between the wirelesscommunication device 1000 which is attached to the object containing themedication and the wearable device 2000 which is worn on at least a partof the user's body in the process in which the user performs themedication adherence.

Referring to FIG. 20, the strength of the signal from the wirelesscommunication device 1000 which is received by the wearable device 2000may be changed according to a positional relationship between thewireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000. Inother words, the strength of the signal received by the wearable device2000 may be changed according to a degree in which the user approachesthe object in which the medication is stored for the medicationadherence. As an example, when the distance between the wearable device2000 which is worn on the user and the wireless communication device1000 is changed from 10 cm to 250 cm, the RSSI value measured by thewearable device 2000 may have a value between −54 dBm to −81 dBMm. Asanother example, when the distance between the wearable device 2000which is not worn on the user and the wireless communication device 1000is changed from 10 cm to 250 cm, the RSSI value measured by the wearabledevice 2000 may have a value between −64 dBm to −88 dBMm.

As illustrated in FIG. 20, the RSSI value of the signal received by thewearable device 2000 may be changed according to whether the userperforms the medication adherence or according to the process of themedication adherence of the user. Therefore, the range of signalstrength should be set in consideration of the RSSI value changedaccording to the situation.

For example, the range of signal strength may be set to −90 dBm orhigher. Referring to FIG. 20, when the RSSI value is less than −90 dBm,the distance between the wireless communication device 1000 and thewearable device 2000 may exceed about 250 cm, and thus this case maycorrespond to the case in which the user does not perform the medicationadherence. Further, when the RSSI value is greater than or equal to −90dBm and less than −70 dBm, the distance between the wirelesscommunication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 is within a rangeof about 70 cm to 200 cm, this case may correspond to the case in whichthe user approaches the object in which the medication is stored for themedication adherence or the user is located close to the object in whichthe medication is stored, and thus this case may be interpreted as beingunclear whether the user performs the medication adherence. Therefore,when the range of signal strength is set to −90 dBm or higher, even whenthe possibility of the medication adherence of the user is low, thewearable device 2000 may shoot a video. Therefore, in most cases, thecase of not shooting the video even through the user performs themedication adherence may be excluded. In other words, the wearabledevice 2000 may obtain the video data for analyzing whether themedication adherence is performed when most users perform the medicationadherence, and thus it has a critical significance that the range ofsignal strength is set to −90 dBm or higher.

As another example, the range of signal strength may be set to −70 dBmor higher. Referring to FIG. 20, when the RSSI value is greater than orequal to −70 dBm and less than −50 dBm, the distance between thewireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 iswithin a range of about 10 cm to 100 cm, this case may correspond to thecase in which the user sufficiently approaches the object in which themedication is stored, and thus this case may be interpreted as theprobability of the medication adherence of the user is high. Therefore,when the range of signal strength is set to −70 dBm or higher, thewearable device 2000 may shoot the video when the possibility of themedication adherence of the user is high, and thus a situation may beprevented in which the video is shot even when the user does not performthe medication adherence. In other words, the wearable device 2000mainly shoots the video when the user performs the medication adherence,unnecessary video shooting by the wearable device 2000 is prevented, andfurther, battery power consumption of the wearable device 2000 due tothe unnecessary video shooting is prevented, and thus it has a criticalsignificance that the range of signal strength is set to −70 dBm orhigher.

As described above, the range of signal strength may be set to be aspecific reference value or higher, and the range of signal strength maybe selected in a range of −120 dBm to −60 dBm in consideration ofcritical significance. More preferably, the specific reference value maybe selected in a range of −100 dBm to −80 dBm.

The range of signal strength may be set to a specific range having anupper limit value and a lower limit value.

For example, the range of signal strength may be set to a range of −70dBm to −50 dBm. Referring to FIG. 20, when the RSSI value is set to −50dBm or higher, the distance between the wireless communication device1000 and the wearable device 2000 is about 10 cm or less, this case maycorrespond to the case in which the object to which the wirelesscommunication device 1000 is attached and the wearable device 2000 arelocated very close, and thus this case may be interpreted as a state inwhich the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device2000 are stored together. Therefore, when the range of signal strengthis set to a range of −70 dBm to −50 dBm, the wearable device 2000 mayshoot the video in a situation in which the user is likely to performthe medication adherence, but may not shoot the video in a situation inwhich the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device2000 are placed abnormally close enough that it is impossible for theuser to perform the medication adherence. As a result, the wearabledevice 2000 shoots the video when the user performs the medicationadherence, but does not shoot the video in an exceptional situation inwhich the user does not perform the medication adherence even when thewireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 areplaced close together, and thus it has a critical significance that therange of signal strength is set to a range of −70 dBm to −50 dBm.

Meanwhile, the range of signal strength may be set in consideration ofthe signal strength when the wearable device 2000 worn by the userreceives the signal from the wireless communication device 1000 attachedto the object when the object in which the medication is stored is held.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 20, when the user grabs the object,the distance between the wireless communication device 1000 and thewearable device 2000 is about 10 cm and the RSSI value of the signalreceived by the wearable device 2000 is in a range of about −56 dBm to−54 dBm, and thus the range of signal strength may be set to −60 dBm orhigher. In this case, considering that the average length of a person'shand is about 17 cm to 20 cm (male) or about 15 cm to 18 cm (female) andthe average length of a person's palm is about 7 cm to 9 cm (male) orabout 6 cm to 8 cm (female), a length of 10 cm may be understood as thedistance between the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearabledevice 2000 when the user grabs the object, and thus it has a criticalsignificance that the range of signal strength is set to −60 dBm orhigher in consideration of the above lengths.

As another example, as illustrated in FIG. 20, the range of signalstrength may be set in consideration of the fact that the signalstrength is changed according to whether the wearable device 2000 isworn by the user. For example, the range of signal strength may be setto −75 dBm or higher.

As still another example, considering that the position where thewearable device 2000 is worn may be different for each user, the rangeof signal strength may be set based on the case in which the distancebetween the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device2000 is within a certain distance. For example, when the distancebetween the wireless communication device 1000 and the wearable device2000 is about 70 cm, the range of signal strength may be set to −75 dBmor higher or −80 dBm or higher in consideration of the RSSI value of thesignal received by the wearable device 2000.

The range of signal strength may be set in consideration of places wherethe wireless communication device 1000 and/or the wearable device 2000are/is located and of the strength of the signal received by thewearable device 2000.

The strength of the signal received by the wearable device 2000 may varyaccording to the place where the wireless communication device 1000 islocated. Considering that the place where the user performs themedication adherence is not constant and may be changed, referring to atable of FIG. 20, the range of signal strength may be set to −80 dBm orhigher.

Meanwhile, in setting the above-described signal strength and the rangeof signal strength, the signal transmission strength of the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may be considered. As an example, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may adjust the transmission strength (TxPower) of the signal transmitted to the outside, and the wearable device2000 may set the range of signal strength in consideration of thetransmission strength included in the data signal received from thewireless communication device 1000. As another example, the transmissionstrength of the wireless communication device 1000 may be set so thatthe range of signal strength is set to the above-described value in thewearable device 2000.

In the above, in determining whether the range of the strength of thesignal from the wireless communication device 1000 which is received thewearable device 2000 is included in the range of signal strength, themethod of setting the range of signal strength has been described. Asdescribed above, by activating the camera module 2100 in considerationof the strength of the signal received by the wearable device 2000, evenwhen the user does not perform the medication adherence and the wirelesscommunication device 1000 transmits the activation data to the wearabledevice 2000 (e.g., when another person moves the object while the useris away from the object where the medication is stored, or when thewearable device 2000 and the wireless communication device 1000 aremoved while being placed close together, etc.), the video may beprevented from being taken unnecessarily.

Meanwhile, before activating the camera module 2100, the wearable device2000 may determine whether conditions other than the above-describedsignal strength are satisfied. As an example, the wearable device 2000may determine whether the wireless communication device 1000 correspondsto the object in which the medication is stored, on the basis of theaccess address, the general unique identification information, and theadvertising address included in the data signal received from thewireless communication device 1000, and/or the data included in theadvertising payload or the data payload. As another example, when thesensed value obtained by using the sensor unit 1100 of the wirelesscommunication device 1000 is included in the received signal, thewearable device 2000 may determine whether it is necessary to shoot thevideo by determining whether the above-described motion condition and/orthe ambient light condition are/is satisfied by using the sensed value.When the wearable device 2000 uses the sensed value, the step S2210 ofdetermining whether the activation data is included in the data signalmay be omitted.

The wearable device 2000 may provide a result of monitoring themedication adherence of the user to the user. For example, the wearabledevice 2000 may receive the result of monitoring the medicationadherence from the server 3000 and output the result of monitoring themedication adherence to the user using the input/output unit 2200.Specifically, the wearable device 2000 may provide information onwhether the user performs the medication adherence and/or a time pointat which the medication adherence is performed to the user using theinput/output unit 2200. Furthermore, the wearable device 2000 mayprovide information related to the medication adherence, such as a typeof the medication, history of the medication adherence, compliance ofthe medication adherence, and/or information (e.g., medication effects,symptoms, side effects, etc.) about the medication being adhered to bythe user.

Here, the server 3000 may receive the video data from the wearabledevice 2000, calculate the result of monitoring the medicationadherence, and provide the monitoring result to the wearable device2000. Detailed descriptions thereof will be described below.

Meanwhile, the result of monitoring the medication adherence and theinformation related to the medication adherence, which are describedabove, may be provided to the user through the terminal device 4000.Further, the result of monitoring the medication adherence and theinformation related to the medication adherence, which are describedabove, for managing the medication adherence of the user may be providedto medical personnel, a manager, or a guardian.

The wearable device 2000 may provide a duplicate medication notificationto the user.

When the user has severe forgetfulness or suffers from a mental illnesssuch as dementia, the user may perform the medication adherence induplicate, and thus the wearable device 2000 may provide the duplicatemedication notification to prevent the user from taking an excessiveamount of medication.

The wearable device 2000 may determine whether the user performs themedication adherence in duplicate. For example, when the wearable device2000 receives the result of monitoring the medication adherence of theuser from the server 3000, the wearable device 2000 may determinewhether the user performs the medication adherence in duplicate on thebasis of a period at which the user performs the medication adherence.Specifically, when the time point at which the user performs themedication adherence, which is included in the result of monitoring themedication adherence received from the server 3000, is within a timedescribed in the medication instruction from the time point when it isdetermined that the medication adherence has been most recentlyperformed, the wearable device 2000 may determine that the user hasperformed the medication adherence in duplicate. In other words, thewearable device 2000 may obtain and store the information on whether themedication adherence is performed and the information about the timepoint at which the medication adherence is performed from the server3000, and may compare the time point at which the user performs themedication adherence with the time point at which the medicationadherence is to be performed to determine whether the user performs themedication adherence in duplicate. In this case, the wearable device2000 may receive the time point at which the user performs themedication adherence and the information on how to take the medicationfrom the server 3000.

The wearable device 2000 may provide the duplicate medicationnotification when the user performs the medication adherence induplicate. For example, when it is determined that the user performs themedication adherence in duplicate, the wearable device 2000 may providea notification indicating that the medication has been duplicated.

The wearable device 2000 may determine whether the user intends toperform the medication adherence in duplicate. For example, when thewearable device 2000 receives the activation data from the wirelesscommunication device 1000, the wearable device 2000 may determinewhether the user intends to perform the medication adherence induplicate by comparing the time point at which the activation data isreceived with the time point at which the user has performed themedication adherence in the past. Specifically, when the time point atwhich the wearable device 2000 receives the activation data from thewireless communication device 1000 is within the time described in themedication instruction from the time point when it is determined thatthe medication adherence has been most recently performed, the wearabledevice 2000 may determine that the user intends to perform themedication adherence in duplicate. In this case, the wearable device2000 may receive the time point at which the user performs themedication adherence and the information on how to take the medicationfrom the server 3000.

The wearable device 2000 may provide a duplicate medication warningnotification in order to prevent the user from performing the medicationadherence in duplicate. For example, when it is determined that the userintends to perform the medication adherence in duplicate, the wearabledevice 2000 may provide a notification to warn the user of the duplicatemedication.

Meanwhile, the above-described duplicate medication notification orduplicate medication warning notification may be provided to medicalpersonnel, a manager, or a guardian in addition to the user.

Further, the process of determining whether the duplicate medication isperformed or process of estimating the duplicate medication, which isdescribed above, may be performed in the server 3000.

Hereinafter, the operation of the server 3000 in the medicationadherence monitoring system 100 will be described with reference toFIGS. 22 and 23.

Meanwhile, the server 3000 may be divided into an analysis server thatanalyzes data and a management server that manages data according to itsrole, and the server 3000 described below may be understood as ananalysis server.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an operation process of the server3000 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 22, the server 3000 may perform a step S3100 ofreceiving video data, a step S3200 of processing the video data, a stepS3300 of determining whether the user performs medication adherence, astep S3400 of providing a result of monitoring the medication adherence,and a step S3500 of deleting the video data.

Hereinafter, each operation will be described in detail.

The server 3000 may receive the video data (S3100). For example, theserver 3000 may receive the video data from wearable device 2000 throughwired and/or wireless communication.

The server 3000 may process the video data (S3200). For example, theserver 3000 may process the video data according to an input data formatof an artificial neural network for video data analysis, which will bedescribed below. Specifically, part of the video data may be deleted ornull data may be added.

The server 3000 may process the video data to protect the privacy of theuser. For example, the server 3000 may process the video data throughcorrection, such as deleting a frame determined to have a privacyinvasion problem among the video data or lowering the resolution.

The server 3000 may process the video data to show the video related tomedication adherence of the user to the user or the like. For example,the server 3000 may extract a frame (e.g., a frame related to a processof taking the medication out of the object, a process of putting themedication in the user's hand, a process of bringing the medication tothe user's mouth, and/or a process of putting the medication into theuser's mouth) related to the process in which the user performs themedication adherence from among the video data to provide the frame tothe user or the like.

The step S3200 of processing the video data by the server 3000 may beomitted.

The server 3000 may determine whether the user performs the medicationadherence (S3300). For example, the server 3000 may determine whetherthe medication adherence is performed by analyzing the video dataobtained from the wearable device 2000 using deep learning-based imageanalysis algorithms or artificial neural networks, such as a machinelearning algorithm, Convolution Neural Network (CNN), Region basedConvolution Neural Network (R-CNN), Recurrent Neural Network (RNN), FastR-CNN, Faster R-CNN, Long Short Term Memory network (LSTM), ResidualNetwork (ResNet), You Only Look Once (YOLO), Generative AdversarialNetwork (GAN), and the like. A method of determining whether themedication adherence is performed in the server 3000 will be describedin detail below.

The server 3000 may provide data on the result of monitoring themedication adherence (S3400). As an example, the server 3000 maytransmit data on whether the user performs the medication adherence tothe wireless communication device 1000, the wearable device 2000, and/orthe terminal device 4000. As another example, the server 3000 maytransmit the data on the result of monitoring the medication adherenceto a management server that manages data for the medication adherence ofthe user.

The server 3000 may delete the video data (S3500). For example, theserver 3000 may delete the video data received from the wearable device2000 and/or the video data obtained by processing the video data when itis determined whether the user performs the medication adherence byanalyzing the video data. The server 3000 may prevent the privacy of theuser or others due to preservation of the video data from being invadedby deleting the video data after analyzing the video data. However, whenthe video data needs to be stored, such as having a need to provide thevideo data to the user or the like, this step S3500 may be omitted.

The server 3000 may use various methods as described above indetermining whether the medication adherence is performed. Hereinafter,a method of analyzing video data using an artificial neural network inthe server 3000 will be mainly described with reference to FIG. 23, butthe technological concept of the present invention is not limitedthereto.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a process of analyzing the video datain the server 3000 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 23, the step S3300 of determining whether the userperforms the medication adherence may include a step S3310 of extractinga feature value from the video data and a step S3320 of determiningwhether the medication adherence is performed by using the extractedfeature value.

The server 3000 may extract the feature value from the video data(S3310). For example, the server 3000 may extract the feature value fromthe video data obtained from the wearable device 2000 using a detectionmodel.

The feature value may refer to a value indicating whether a majorfeature is included in the medication adherence process. For example,the feature value may refer to a value indicating whether a video or animage includes the medication, the object, the user's hand, the user'smouth, the user's hand holding the object, the hand holding themedication, and/or an action of putting the medication into the mouth.

In other words, the server 3000 may input the video data to thedetection model to detect an object and motion related to the medicationadherence included for each frame included in the video data. The server3000 may detect the object and motion for all or part of the imageframes included in the video data. The fact that the server 3000 inputsthe video data to the detection model to detect the object related tothe medication adherence may mean that the server 3000 determineswhether the object related to the medication adherence is present in thevideo data, and the fact that the server 3000 inputs the video data tothe detection model to detect the motion related to the medicationadherence may mean that the server 3000 determines whether the motionrelated to the medication adherence is present in the video data.

The detection model may refer to an artificial neural network that istrained to receive video data and extract feature values. For example,the detection model may be an artificial neural network trained with adata set labeled with feature values on a video related to medicationadherence. Specifically, the data set for training the detection modelmay include data obtained by shooting a plurality of videos related tomedication adherence and labeling the object and motion related to themedication adherence for each image frame included in each video. Thedetection model may be implemented with the above-described deeplearning-based image analysis algorithm.

The server 3000 may determine whether the medication adherence isperformed by using the extracted feature value (S3320). For example, theserver 3000 may determine whether the user performs the medicationadherence from the extracted feature value using a confirmation model.Specifically, the server 3000 may obtain an output value indicatingwhether the user performs the medication adherence by inputting theimage frame of the above-described video data and the feature valueextracted from each image frame as it is or by processing and inputtingthe image frame and the feature value into the confirmation model.

Here, the confirmation model may refer to an artificial neural networkthat is trained to receive the feature value and output the valueindicating whether the medication adherence is performed. For example,the confirmation model may be an artificial neural network trained withthe data set labeled with whether the medication adherence is performedon the feature values for each video data frame. Specifically, the dataset for training the confirmation model may include the data in whichthe image frame and the feature value corresponding thereto are labeledwith the value indicating whether or not the medication adherence isperformed. The confirmation model may be implemented with theabove-described deep learning-based image analysis algorithm.

In the above, the operation of the medication adherence monitoringsystem 100 has been described.

Meanwhile, the method and process of performing the medication adherencemay vary for each person. As an example, a time required for performingthe medication adherence may vary for each user, and some users mayperform the medication adherence for a time significantly exceeding anaverage time expected as a time required for the medication adherence.As another example, in the case of taking multiple medications formedication adherence, all medications may be taken at one time or themedications may be taken several times one by one, according to theuser.

As described above, since the method or process of performing themedication adherence may be different for each user, the medicationadherence monitoring system 100 needs to be operated in consideration ofa specific situation as follows.

Hereinafter, the operation of the medication adherence monitoring system100 when the user moves the object while shooting the video will bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 24 to 28.

FIGS. 24 and 25 are diagrams illustrating operation processes performedby the wearable device 2000 when the user moves the object whileshooting the video according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 24, the wearable device 2000 may perform a step S4100of receiving first and second activation data, a step S4200 ofdetermining whether the second activation data is received during videotaking, a step S4300 of ignoring the second activation data, a stepS4400 of obtaining first video data on the basis of the first activationdata, a step S4500 of transmitting the first video data to the server3000, a step S4600 of obtaining third video data on the basis of thefirst activation data, a step S4700 of obtaining fourth video data onthe basis of the second activation data, and a step S4800 oftransmitting the third and fourth video data to the server 3000.

Hereinafter, each operation will be described in detail.

The wearable device 2000 may receive the first and second activationdata (S4100). For example, when the user moves the object to which thewireless communication device 1000 is attached at a first time point inthe process of performing the medication adherence, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may perform the operations illustrated in FIG.8 to transmit the first activation data, and when the user moves theobject to which the wireless communication device 1000 is attached at asecond time point after the first time point, the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may similarly transmit the second activation data so thatthe wearable device 2000 may receive the first and second activationdata.

The wearable device 2000 may determine whether the second activationdata is received during the video taking (S4200). For example, thewearable device 2000 may activate the camera module 2100 on the basis ofthe first activation data and determine whether a time point at whichthe second activation data is received is in the middle of the videotaking. In other words, the wearable device 2000 may determine whetherthe time point at which the second activation data is received ispresent between a time point at which the camera module 2100 isactivated and a time point at which the camera module 2100 isdeactivated.

The wearable device 2000 may ignore the second activation data (S4300).For example, when it is determined that the time point at which thesecond activation data is received is present between the time point atwhich the camera module 2100 is activated and the time point at whichthe camera module 2100 is deactivated, the wearable device 2000 my notperform any operation in response to the second activation data.

The wearable device 2000 may obtain the first video data on the basis ofthe first activation data (S4400). As described elsewhere in the presentinvention, the wearable device 2000 may obtain the first video data byshooting the video for a predetermined first imaging time on the basisof the first activation data. In this case, although the wearable device2000 receives the first and second activation data, the wearable device2000 may obtain only the first video data.

The wearable device 2000 may transmit the first video data to the server3000 (S4500). As described elsewhere in the present invention, thewearable device 2000 may transmit the first video data to the server3000 for data analysis after a predetermined period of waiting time haselapsed from the time point at which the first video data is obtained.

When it is determined that the time point at which the second activationdata is received is not in the middle of the video taking, the wearabledevice 2000 may obtain the third video data on the basis of the firstactivation data (S4600) and obtain the fourth video data on the basis ofthe second activation data (S4700). In other words, the wearable device2000 may obtain the third and fourth video data corresponding to thefirst and second activation data received at different time points.

The wearable device 2000 may transmit the third and fourth video data tothe server 3000 (S4800). As described elsewhere in the presentinvention, the wearable device 2000 may transmit the third and fourthvideo data to the server 3000 for data analysis.

Meanwhile, the wearable device 2000 may discontinuously or continuouslytransmit the third video data and the fourth video data to the server3000. As an example, before the fourth video data is obtained after thethird video data is obtained, the wearable device 2000 may transmit thethird video data to the server 3000. As another example, after apredetermined waiting time has elapsed after the fourth video data isobtained, the wearable device 2000 may continuously transmit the thirdand fourth video data to the server 3000. In this case, it is possibleto prevent heat from being generated due to excessive data transmissionfrom the wearable device 2000 to the server 3000 or data transmissionduring the video taking.

Referring to FIG. 25, the wearable device 2000 may perform a step S4100of receiving first and second activation data, a step S4200 ofdetermining whether the second activation data is received during videotaking, a step S4310 of extending an imaging time by an extra time (oran additional period of time), a step S4410 of obtaining first videodata corresponding to the first activation data and additionallyobtaining second video data corresponding to the second activation data,a step S4510 of transmitting the first and second video data to theserver 3000, a step S4600 of obtaining third video data on the basis ofthe first activation data, a step S4700 of obtaining fourth video dataon the basis of the second activation data, and a step S4800 oftransmitting the third and fourth video data to the server 3000.

Hereinafter, each operation will be described in detail. However,duplicate parts between step S4100, step S4200, step S4600, step S4700,and step S4800 and the operations described in FIG. 23 will be omitted.

When the second activation data is received during the video taking, thewearable device 2000 may extend the imaging time by an extra time(S4310). As an example, when the time point at which the secondactivation data is received is within the imaging time from the timepoint at which the camera module 2100 is activated by the firstactivation data, the wearable device 2000 may shoot the video for theextra time in addition to the imaging time. As another example, thewearable device 2000 may reset a timer for setting a time for taking avideo, and take the video for a longer time than the existing imagingtime.

The extra time may be set in various ways. As an example, the extra timemay be set based on a signal that is received by the wearable device2000 from the wireless communication device 1000. Specifically, theextra time may be set based on unique identification information of thewireless communication device 1000 obtained by the wearable device 2000from the wireless communication device 1000. As another example, theextra time may be set based on the imaging time according to the firstactivation data. For example, the extra time may be set to be less thanor equal to the imaging time. As still another example, when the videois additionally taken by resetting the timer as described above, theextra time may vary according to the time point at which the timer isreset.

The wearable device 2000 may obtain the first video data correspondingto the first activation data and additionally obtain the second videodata corresponding to the second activation data (S4410). For example,when the wearable device 2000 receives the first activation data, thewearable device 2000 may obtain the first video data by taking the videofor the imaging time, and obtain the second video data by taking thevideo for the extra time. Here, the first video data and the secondvideo data may be understood as dividing the entire video data obtainedby taking the video during the imaging time and the extra time intovideo data corresponding to the imaging time and video datacorresponding to the extra time.

The wearable device 2000 may transmit the first and second video data tothe server 3000 (S4510). For example, similar to the content describedin FIG. 23, the wearable device 2000 may continuously or discontinuouslytransmit the first and second video data to the server 3000.

FIGS. 26 to 28 are diagrams illustrating a method of processing andanalyzing video data in the server 3000 when the user moves the objectwhile taking the video according to the embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 26, the server 3000 may receive the first and secondvideo data from the wearable device 2000. For example, ad described inFIG. 25, the wearable device 2000 may take the video for the imagingtime and the extra time and, accordingly, may transmit the first videodata corresponding to the imaging time and the second video datacorresponding to the extra time to the server 3000.

Here, the first and second video data may be divided by the wearabledevice 2000 and transmitted to the server 3000 or may be transmitted asone piece of video data to be divided by the server 3000.

In addition, here, the number of frames of the first video data may bedifferent from the number of frames of the second video data. Forexample, in the case in which the extra time is shorter than the periodof imaging time, when the first video data has x frames, the secondvideo data may have y frames less than that of the first video data.

Referring to FIG. 27, the server 3000 may merge the first video data andthe second video data prior to data analysis.

For example, the server 3000 may connect the first video data and thesecond video data in series and merge. For example, the server 3000 mayobtain merged video data by attaching the second video data to the firstvideo data and may analyze the merged video data to determine whetherthe user performs medication adherence.

As another example, the server 3000 may combine and merge the firstvideo data and the second video data. For example, the server 3000 mayobtain merged video data by merging at least a part of the first videodata and at least a part of the second video data and may analyze themerged video data to determine whether the user performs the medicationadherence.

The server 3000 may process the merged video data to have a specificnumber of frames prior to data analysis for determining whether the userperforms the medication adherence. For example, the server 3000 mayadjust the number of frames of the video data obtained by merging thefirst video data and the second video data so as to correspond to thenumber of input nodes of an artificial neural network (e.g., theabove-described detection model or confirmation model) used to determinewhether the medication adherence is performed.

Referring to FIG. 28, the server 3000 may determine whether themedication adherence is performed for each piece of video data. Forexample, when the server 3000 receives the first and second video datafrom the wearable device 2000 as described in steps S4600 to S4800 inFIGS. 24 and 25, the server 3000 may determine whether the user performsthe medication adherence without merging the first and second videodata, and finally determine whether the user performs the medicationadherence on the basis of a result of the determination.

In this case, the server 3000 may expect that the second video datawhose shooting initiation time point is relatively later will furtherreflect the process of the medication adherence of the user, and thusthe server 3000 may set the importance of the second video data to behigher than the importance of the first video data.

More specifically, as shown in table of FIG. 28, as a result ofanalyzing the first video data and the second video data, when it isconfirmed that the user performs the medication adherence in both of thefirst video data and the second video data, the server 3000 maydetermine that the user has performed the medication adherence. Further,when it is confirmed that the user does not perform the medicationadherence in the first video data but the user performs the medicationadherence in the second video data, the server 3000 may finallydetermine that the user has performed the medication adherence. Further,when it is confirmed that the user performs the medication adherence inthe first video data but the user does not perform the medicationadherence in the second video data, the server 3000 may finallydetermine that the user has not performed the medication adherence.Further, when it is confirmed that the user does not perform themedication adherence in both of the first video data and the secondvideo data, the server 3000 may finally determine that the user has notperformed the medication adherence.

In the above, the second video data is expected to reflect the processof the medication adherence of the user more than the first video dataso that the importance of the second video data is set to be higher thanthat of the first video data, but the technological concept of thepresent invention is not limited thereto, and the importance of thefirst video data may be set to be higher than that of the second videodata.

In the above, when the number of types of medication that the useradheres to is one, the operation of the medication adherence monitoringsystem 100 has been described in the case in which the user moves theobject containing the medication and thus the wireless communicationdevice 1000 attached to the object transmits the activation data to thewearable device 2000 several times.

Hereinafter, when the user adheres to a plurality of medications, theoperation of the medication adherence monitoring system 100 will bedescribed in the case in which the activation data is transmitted to thewearable device 2000 by each of a plurality of wireless communicationdevices.

FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating an operation process performed by thewearable device 2000 when the user moves the object while shooting avideo in a case in which the user performs adherence on differentmedications according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 29, the wearable device 2000 may perform a step S5100of receiving first and second activation data, a step S5200 ofdetermining whether the second activation data is received during videotaking, a step S5300 of extending an imaging time in consideration ofthe type of medication adherence, a step S5400 of obtaining first videodata corresponding to the first activation data and additionallyobtaining second video data corresponding to the second activation data,a step S5500 of transmitting the first and second video data to theserver 3000, a step S5600 of obtaining third video data on the basis ofthe first activation data, a step S5700 of obtaining fourth video dataon the basis of the second activation data, and a step S5800 oftransmitting the third and fourth video data to the server 3000.

Hereinafter, each operation will be described in detail.

The wearable device 2000 may receive the first and second activationdata (S5100). For example, when the user adheres to a first medicationand a second medication of different types, the wearable device 2000 mayreceive the first activation data and the second activation data from afirst wireless communication device and a second wireless communicationdevice corresponding to the first and second medications, respectively.In this case, each of the first activation data and the secondactivation data may include information about the type of eachmedication adherence.

The wearable device 2000 may determine whether the second activationdata is received during the video shooting (S5200). For example, whenthe wearable device 2000 receives the first activation data andactivates the camera module 2100 to receive the second activation dataduring the video shooting, the wearable device 2000 may determine thatthe second activation data is received during the video shooting.

Meanwhile, since the types of the medication that the user adheres toare different, the wearable device 2000 may receive the first activationdata to shoot the video during a first imaging time corresponding to theadherence of the first medication, and may receive the second activationdata to shoot the video during a second imaging time. In this case, thesecond imaging time may correspond to the adherence to the secondmedication. For example, the adherence to the first medication may referto an action of taking the medication and the first imaging time mayrefer to a time corresponding to the taking of the medication, and theadherence to the second medication may refer to an action ofadministering an eye drop and the second imaging time may refer to atime corresponding to the administering of the eye drop.

Therefore, the wearable device 2000 may determine whether the secondactivation data is received within the first imaging time from the timepoint at which the camera module 2100 is activated, on the basis of thefirst activation data.

Here, the first imaging time and the second imaging time may be setbased on information included in the signals that the wearable device2000 receives from the first wireless communication device and thesecond wireless communication device, respectively.

The wearable device 2000 may extend the imaging time in consideration ofthe type of medication adherence (S5300). For example, when the wearabledevice 2000 receives the second activation data during the videoshooting on the basis of the first activation data, the wearable device2000 may further shoot the video for an extra time after the firstimaging time has elapsed from the time point at which the camera module2100 is activated.

Here, the extra time may be set based on the first imaging time and/orthe second imaging time. For example, the extra time may be smaller thanthe second imaging time. Since the extra time is set to be smaller thanthe second imaging time, it is possible to prevent unnecessary videosfrom being shot.

The wearable device 2000 may obtain the first video data correspondingto the first activation data and additionally obtain the second videodata corresponding to the second activation data (S5400).

Here, the first and second video data may be divided according todifferent criteria. As an example, the first video data may correspondto the first imaging time and the second video data may correspond tothe extra time. As another example, the first video data may correspondto an interval between the time point at which the camera module 2100 isactivated and the time point at which the second activation data isreceived, and the second video data may correspond to an intervalbetween the time point at which the second activation data is receivedand the time point at which the camera module 2100 is deactivated, onthe basis of the first activation data.

The wearable device 2000 may transmit the first and second video data tothe server 3000 (S5500). For example, the wearable device 2000 maycontinuously or discontinuously transmit the first video data and thesecond video data to the server 3000. In addition, for example, thewearable device 2000 may divide and transmit the first video data andthe second video data to the server 3000.

When it is determined that the second activation data is not receivedduring the video shooting, the wearable device 2000 may obtain the thirdvideo data on the basis of the first activation data (S5600). Since thecontent of step S5600 is the same as the content of step S4600 describedin FIGS. 24 and 25, a description thereof will be omitted.

The wearable device 2000 may obtain the fourth video data on the basisof the second activation data (S5700). Since the content of step S5700is the same as the content of step S4700 described in FIGS. 24 and 25, adescription thereof will be omitted.

The wearable device 2000 may transmit the third and fourth video data tothe server 3000 (S5800). Since the content of step S5800 is the same asthe content of step S4800 described in FIGS. 24 and 25, a descriptionthereof will be omitted.

The server 3000 may use the video data received from the wearable device2000 to determine whether the user performs the medication adherencemultiple times. As an example, when the server 3000 receives the firstvideo data and the second video data from the wearable device 2000, theserver 3000 may use a first artificial neural network to determinewhether the user performs first medication adherence from the firstvideo data, and may use a second artificial neural network to determinewhether the user performs second medication adherence from the secondvideo data. As another example, the server 3000 may use the first andsecond video data received from the wearable device 2000 as one inputdata and use an artificial neural network to determine whether each ofthe first medication adherence and the second medication adherence isperformed. The determination of whether to adhere to differentmedications will be described in detail below.

In the above, the case of monitoring whether the user performs themedication adherence has been mainly described, but the user may performvarious actions for healthcare, such as health promotion or diseaseprevention, in addition to the medication adherence. In this case, whenthe medication adherence monitoring system 100 is used, it is possibleto monitor and manage the user's health management actions, similar tothe medication adherence.

Hereinafter, a health management system for monitoring the user's healthmanagement actions using the medication adherence monitoring system 100will be described with reference to FIGS. 30 and 31. The healthmanagement system may have the same configuration as the medicationadherence monitoring system 100, but some components may be operateddifferently in detecting the user's actions.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating user's health management actionsaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 30, the user's health management actions may includeactions for health monitoring, promotion, or assistance, or diseaseprevention, such as medication adherence, blood glucose measurement,electrocardiogram measurement, blood pressure measurement, and/ortemperature measurement. Furthermore, the health management actions mayinclude using exercise equipment, taking health supplements, managing adiet, or undergoing food therapy.

The health management system may have the same configuration as themedication adherence monitoring system 100. For example, the healthmanagement system may include a wireless communication device 1000, awearable device 2000, a server 3000, and a terminal device 4000. Here,like the medication adherence monitoring system 100, the wirelesscommunication device 1000 may detect the initiation of the user's healthmanagement actions to provide activation data to the wearable device2000, the wearable device 2000 may shoot a video on the basis of theactivation data to obtain video data related to the user's healthmanagement actions, and the server 3000 may analyze the video dataobtained from the wearable device 2000 to determine whether the userperforms the health management actions.

However, the configuration of the health management system may beimplemented differently from the medication adherence monitoring system100 or the health management system may perform a function differentfrom that of the medication adherence monitoring system 100 according tothe health management actions.

For example, when the health management action is measuring bloodpressure, the wireless communication device 1000 may be attached to ablood pressure monitor to detect the user's use of the blood pressuremonitor. Specifically, the wireless communication device 1000 may beattached to a cuff of the blood pressure monitor to detect the user'suse of the blood pressure monitor and provide activation data to thewearable device 2000.

As another example, when the health management action is managing a dietor undergoing food therapy, the wireless communication device 1000 maybe attached to a container containing food to check whether the userconsumes food. Specifically, the wireless communication device 1000 maybe attached to an inner side of a lid of a food container to detect thatthe lid of the food container is opened by using a motion sensor and/oran ambient light sensor and provide activation data to the wearabledevice 2000. Alternatively, the wireless communication device 1000 maybe configured as a part of the food container and may detect that thelid of the food container is opened and provide the activation data tothe wearable device 2000.

Meanwhile, the health management system may be operated similarly to themedication adherence monitoring system 100 but some components thereofmay be operated differently. For example, in the health managementsystem, the wearable device 2000 may set an imaging time on the basis ofsignals received from the wireless communication device 1000.

Hereinafter, the operation of the wearable device 2000 in the healthmanagement system will be described with reference to FIG. 31.

FIG. 31 is a diagram illustrating an operation process of a wearabledevice 2000 in a health management system according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

Referring to FIG. 31, the health management system may perform a stepS6100 of receiving, by the wearable device 2000, a data signal from thewireless communication device 1000, a step S6200 of determining a healthmanagement type and setting an imaging time on the basis of the datasignal, a step S6300 of obtaining video data related to a healthmanagement action, and a step S6400 of determining whether the healthmanagement action is performed by using the video data.

Hereinafter, each operation will be described in detail.

The wearable device 2000 may receive the data signal from the wirelesscommunication device 1000 (S6100). Here, the data signal may refer to adata packet including the above-described specific data and may includeidentification data, manufacturer data, transmission strength data,motion data, ambient light data, and/or activation data of the wirelesscommunication device 1000. Furthermore, the data signal may furtherinclude data indicating the type of the user's health management action.

The wearable device 2000 may determine the health management type andset an imaging time on the basis of the data signal (S6200). As anexample, the second control unit 2500 may determine the type of thehealth management action performed by the user on the basis of theidentification data included in the data signal. Specifically, thesecond control unit 2500 may compare reference data for the healthmanagement action, which is pre-stored in the second memory 2300 orreceived from the server 3000, with the identification data to determinethe type of the health management action performed by the user. Asanother example, the second control unit 2500 may determine the type ofhealth management action performed by the user on the basis of the dataindicating the type of health management action included in the datasignal. Specifically, the second control unit 2500 may compare thereference data for the health management action, which is pre-stored inthe second memory 2300 or received from the server 3000, with the dataindicating the type of health management action to determine the type ofhealth management action performed by the user. Here, the wearabledevice 2000 may store a result of determining the type of healthmanagement action as category data.

The wearable device 2000 may set the imaging time according to thedetermined type of health management action. The wearable device 2000may shoot a video for a different imaging time according to the type ofhealth management action performed by the user by setting the imagingtime in consideration of the data indicating the identification data orthe type of health management action. For example, when the dataindicating the identification data or the type of health managementaction indicates the user's use of the blood pressure monitor, theimaging time may be set sufficiently long as a period of time requiredto use the blood pressure monitor.

The wearable device 2000 may obtain the video data related to the healthmanagement action (S6300). For example, the second control unit 2500 mayobtain the video data by shooting the video for the set imaging time inconsideration of the data indicating the identification data or the typeof health management action.

The wearable device 2000 may transmit the video data and the categorydata to the server 3000 (S6400). For example, the second control unit2500 may transmit the video data and the category data to the server3000 by using the second communication unit 2400. Here, the categorydata may refer to data for identifying the type of the user's healthmanagement action as described above. However, the wearable device 2000may transmit the unique identification data of the wirelesscommunication device 1000 received from the wireless communicationdevice 1000 without transmitting the category data to the server 3000.

In the above, the method of determining whether the user performs themedication adherence by using the medication adherence monitoring system100 has been described.

Hereinafter, structures and a design method of the wirelesscommunication device 1000 and the wearable device 2000 which constitutethe medication adherence monitoring system 100 will be described withreference to FIGS. 32 to 35.

FIG. 32 is a diagram illustrating an object and a wireless communicationdevice 1000 attached to the object according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

Referring to FIG. 32, the wireless communication device 1000 may beattached to or detached from an object for accommodating a medication.For example, at least a portion of the wireless communication device1000 may include an attachment region, and the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may be attached to the object through the attachment regionor may be detached from the object due to an external force. As anotherexample, the wireless communication device 1000 may be attached to ordetached from the object through a separate attachment member.

The wireless communication device 1000 may be implemented in variousshapes. For example, the wireless communication device 1000 may beimplemented to have a shape such as a hemispherical shape, a cylindricalshape, a polygonal column shape, a truncated conical shape, a truncatedpolygonal pyramid shape, or the like.

Meanwhile, the wireless communication device 1000 may be implemented asa portion of the object. For example, referring to FIG. 32 again, thewireless communication device 1000 may be implemented as an opening(e.g., a cap or lid portion) of the object.

FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a wirelesscommunication device 1000 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 33, the wireless communication device 1000 may beimplemented as a figure having a top including a sensing region and abottom including an attachment region.

The top may refer to a surface that is not attached to an object. Forexample, since an attachment region is not formed on the top of thewireless communication device 1000, the wireless communication device1000 may not be attached to the object through the top.

The bottom may refer to a surface that is attached to the object. Forexample, since the attachment region is formed on the bottom of thewireless communication device 1000, the wireless communication device1000 may be attached to the object through the bottom.

The sensing region may be understood as a region in which at least somesensors of a sensor unit 1100 of the wireless communication device 1000detect an environment around the wireless communication device 1000. Forexample, an ambient light sensor 1120 may detect brightness around thewireless communication device 1000 through the sensing region.

As described above, in the wireless communication device 1000, thesensing region and the attachment region are formed on differentsurfaces so that the sensing region and the attachment region may notoverlap. Accordingly, even when the wireless communication device 1000is attached to the object, the wireless communication device 1000 doesnot interfere with the sensor unit 1100 from detecting the environmentaround the wireless communication device 1000.

Meanwhile, the sensing region is not necessarily formed on the top ofthe wireless communication device 1000 and may be formed on anothersurface (e.g., a side surface or a bottom) of the wireless communicationdevice 1000. However, the sensing region may be formed on a surfacedifferent from the attachment region or may be formed so as not tooverlap the attachment region as collecting the ambient light around thewireless communication device through the sensing region would not bedisturbed by the attachment region.

The wireless communication device 1000 may include a housing whichdefines an inner space, and the components of the wireless communicationdevice 1000 may be disposed in the inner space of the housing. Forexample, in the inner space of the housing, a plate for supporting asensor unit 1100, a first memory 1200, a first communication unit 1300,and a first control unit 1400 (hereinafter, referred to as a “sensorunit” etc.) and a battery for supplying power may be disposed.

Here, the battery, the plate, the sensor unit, and the like may besequentially disposed in the inner space of the housing. For example,referring to FIG. 33, the battery may be disposed on the bottomincluding the attachment region, the plate may be disposed on thebattery, the sensor unit and the like may be disposed on the plate, andthe top including the sensing region may be located above the sensorunit and the like. In this case, the sensor unit and the like may bedisposed at different positions on the plate, and the sensor unit 1100and the sensing region may be located to correspond to each other.Specifically, a motion sensor 1110 and the ambient light sensor 1120 maybe disposed on the plate to be spaced a preset distance from each other,and the ambient light sensor 1120 may be disposed within a region spaceda preset distance from a central axis of the sensing region of the top,on the plate.

FIG. 34 is a diagram illustrating a configuration and structure of awearable device 2000 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 35 is a diagram illustrating a field of view FoV of a camera module2100 according to a slope of the camera module 2100 according to anembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 34, the wearable device 2000 may be implemented in theform of being worn on a user's wrist. For example, the wearable device2000 may be implemented in the form of a band or watch worn on thewrist. Hereinafter, the wearable device 2000 is mainly described asbeing worn on the user's wrist, but the technological concept of thepresent invention is not limited thereto. Even when the wearable device2000 is worn on at least a portion of the user's body rather than thewrist, the configuration and structure of the wearable device 2000 maybe similarly applied.

Meanwhile, in the wearable device 2000, a position at which the cameramodule 2100 is disposed should be mainly determined when considering theoperation of the medication adherence monitoring system 100. Forexample, when the wearable device 2000 is worn on the user's wrist, thewearable device 2000 needs to capture an image of the user's palm.However, a back or side surface of the user's hand may be photographedaccording to the arrangement position of the camera module 2100 on thewearable device 2000, and thus it may be difficult to obtain image datarequired for analysis.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the wearable device 2000 and thearrangement position of the camera module 2100 will be described and,furthermore, a mechanical design method of the wearable device 2000 inconsideration of the arrangement of the camera module 2100 will bedescribed.

The wearable device 2000 may include a component of which a size or alength is adjustable by the user. For example, the wearable device 2000may include a first strap ST1 including a first end coupled to a firstside of the main body 2200 and a second end including a first connectionportion, and a second strap ST2 including a third end coupled to asecond side of the main body 2200 and a second connection portion. Here,the first connection portion and the second connection portion areconnected to each other to allow sizes thereof to be adjusted.Specifically, the wearable device 2000 may include the first strap ST1including a hook, a buckle, and/or a loop, and the second strap ST2 ofwhich a length is adjustable by passing through the buckle of the firststrap ST1 or being caught by the hook while passing through the buckle.The second strap ST2 may further include a fixing portion where at leastpart of the second connection portion passing the first connectionportion of the first strap ST1 is attachable. As another example, thewearable device 2000 may include a hook and one strap ST of which a sizeis adjustable. The first strap ST1 and the second strap ST2 areconfigured to have correlation described above, so that the second strapST2 does not cover the camera module disposed on the first strap ST2 asmentioned below. Hereinafter, the wearable device 2000 is mainlydescribed as including the first strap ST1 and the second strap ST2, butthe technological concept of the present invention is not limitedthereto.

The main body 2200 mentioned above may have an inner space surrounded byat least a top side, a bottom side, a first side, a second side, a thirdside and a fourth side. The first side the first side and the secondside facing each other, the third side and the fourth side facing eachother. Furthermore, the main body may have a length defined by the firstside and the second side, and a width defined by the third side and thefourth side.

The wearable device 2000 further comprise a display unit exposed throughthe top side, a controller disposed in the inner space and configured tocontrol the display unit output the information, and an electricconnection line electrically connecting the controller and the cameramodule.

The camera module 2100 may be disposed on the wearable device 2000 to bespaced a preset distance from main body 2200. For example, when thewearable device 2000 is worn on the user's wrist, the camera module 2100may be disposed to be spaced a preset distance from the main body 2200so as to face the main body 2200. Here, the preset distance may bedetermined in consideration of an average wrist circumference ofpersons.

The first strap ST1 and the second strap ST2 may be designed inconsideration of the camera module 2100. For example, when the cameramodule 2100 is disposed on the first strap ST1, the first strap ST1 mayinclude the buckle, and the second strap ST2 may be designed to beadjustable in length by passing through the hook of the first strap ST1.In other words, the first strap ST1 on which the camera module 2100 isdisposed includes the buckle, and the second strap ST2 on which thecamera module 2100 is not disposed may pass through the buckle of thefirst strap ST1 so that the size of the wearable device 2000 may beadjusted.

In this case, the length of the first strap ST1 may be greater than thelength of the second strap ST2. For example, in the wearable device2000, in order for the camera module 2100 to be spaced the presetdistance from the main body 2200, the first strap ST1 may have a lengthcorresponding to the preset distance and the second strap ST2 may have alength relatively smaller than the length of the first strap ST1.

Further, when the wearable device 2000 is worn on the user's wrist, thefirst strap ST1 is disposed further outward than the second strap ST2relative to the user's wrist, and thus it is possible to prevent thecamera module 2100 from being pressed or covered by the second strapST2.

By the way, the camera module wherein the camera module may be installedinside the strap ST while a lens of the camera module is positionedbetween a top surface and a bottom surface of the strap ST.

Referring to FIG. 34 again, the wearable device 2000 may include themain body 2200, and the first strap ST1 and the second strap ST2 whichare connected to both ends of the main body 2200, and when the cameramodule 2100 is disposed on the first strap ST1, the camera module 2100may be disposed on a portion of the first strap ST1 that is far apartfrom the main body 2200. For example, when the first strap ST1 includesa second portion P2 adjacent to the main body 2200 and a first portionP1 spaced apart from the main body 2200 based on a center thereof, thecamera module 2100 may be located on the first portion P1. Through sucharrangement of the camera module 2100, the user's palm may come into thefield of view of the camera module 2100 as much as possible when thewearable device 2000 is worn on the user's wrist. In other words, thefield of view of the camera module might head toward a direction alongthe width of the main body.

Meanwhile, when the wearable device 2000 includes one strap ST, thestrap ST may include an adhesive portion for size adjustment. Forexample, the wearable device 2000 may include the main body 2200, and aconnection member formed at one end of the main body 2200 and anadjusting member formed at the other end thereof. In this case, one endof the strap ST may be fixed to the connection member, and the other endof the strap ST is folded after passing through the adjusting member andadhered to the adhesive portion, where the adjusting member can beattachable or detachable, of the strap ST, and thus the size of thewearable device 2000 may be adjusted. In this case, the camera module2100 may be disposed on a portion of the strap ST that is not theadhesive portion. Furthermore, the camera module 2100 may be disposedcloser to a middle of the one end and the other end of the strap ST thanthe one end of the strap ST.

The camera module 2100 may be disposed on one surface of the strap ST.For example, the camera module 2100 may be disposed on a surface of thestrap ST that is opposite to a surface surrounding the user's wrist whenthe wearable device 2000 is worn on the user's wrist. As anotherexample, the camera module 2100 may be disposed on a side surface of thestrap ST.

The camera module 2100 may be disposed to be inclined at a predeterminedangle with respect to the strap ST. For example, referring to FIG. 35, acentral axis ca of the camera module 2100 may have an angle in a rangeof 0 to 180° with respect to the strap ST.

Here, the field of view FoV of the camera module 2100 may be setaccording to a degree of inclination of the camera module 2100. Forexample, as the angle between the central axis ca of the camera module2100 and the strap ST goes from 180° to 0°, the user's palm occupies arelatively large portion of the field of view FoV and, accordingly, anobject other than the palm may not be photographed. Conversely, as theangle between the central axis ca of the camera module 2100 and thestrap ST goes from 0° to 180°, the object other than the palm may comeinto the field of view FoV. In other words, as the angle between thecentral axis ca and the strap ST increases, the camera module 2100 has arelatively wide field of view FoV, but an object (e.g., other person)less related to medication adherence may come into the field of viewFoV, which may cause problems such as privacy invasion and the like. Asthe angle between the central axis ca and the strap ST decreases, thecamera module 2100 has a relatively narrow field of view FoV, but theobject less related to the medication adherence may not come into thefield of view FoV. Therefore, the degree of inclination of the cameramodule 2100 may be selected in an appropriate range so that the objectless related to the medication adherence do not come into the field ofview FoV while ensuring a sufficient field of view FoV. For example, theangle between the central axis ca of the camera module 2100 and thestrap ST may be set in a range of 60° to 150°. More preferably, theangle between the central axis ca of the camera module 2100 and thestrap ST may be set in a range of 90° to 120°.

In other words, the field of view FoV of the camera module 2100 may beset according to an optical axis of a lens of the camera module 2100.For example, the field of view FoV may be spread around the opticalaxis, and the palm may come into the field of view FoV as an anglebetween the optical axis and the strap ST increases. The angle betweenthe optical axis and the strap ST could be acute. For example, the anglebetween the optical axis and the strap ST could be between 15 to 75°,preferably between 30° to 60°. Here, the angle might be determined as anangle between the optical axis and a surface of the strap ST where thecamera module 2100 is disposed.

The camera module 2100 may be electrically connected to the secondcontrol unit 2500 of the wearable device 2000. For example, referring toFIG. 34 again, the second control unit 2500 and the camera module 2100may be electrically connected to each other through electricalconnecting members EM embedded in the strap ST on which the cameramodule 2100 is disposed. Specifically, when the wearable device 2000includes the first strap ST1 and the second strap ST2 and the cameramodule 2100 is disposed on the first strap ST1, a portion of the firststrap ST1 that is located between the second control unit 2500 and thecamera module 2100 may have flexible electrical connecting members EMembedded therein. Here, the electrical connecting members EM may includea power supply line for supplying power to the camera module 2100, adata line for receiving image data from the camera module 2100, and acontrol line for controlling the camera module 2100.

Meanwhile, the camera module 2100 may not be electrically connected tothe second control unit 2500 of the wearable device 2000 and may includea separate communication module to perform data communication with thesecond control unit 2500 of the wearable device 2000 or the server 3000.

Hereinafter, a method of confirming and inducing the user's wearing ofthe wearable device 2000 in the medication adherence monitoring system100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed.

In the medication adherence monitoring system 100, the wearable device2000 plays a major role in shooting a video or an image related to themedication adherence of the user. Therefore, in the medication adherencemonitoring system 100, when the user performs the medication adherence,it is necessary for the user to wear the wearable device 2000 and it isnecessary to prevent the user from performing the medication adherencewithout wearing the wearable device 2000.

In the medication adherence monitoring system 100, the wearable device2000 may determine whether the user wears the wearable device 2000 byusing a built-in sensor.

For example, the wearable device 2000 may determine whether the userwears the wearable device 2000 by using the number of steps of the usermeasured by using a built-in acceleration sensor and/or gravity sensor.Specifically, when the number of steps of the user measured by using thebuilt-in sensors during a specific time interval is less than or equalto an average number of steps of a general person corresponding to thespecific time interval or the minimum number of steps of the generalperson corresponding to the specific time interval, the wearable device2000 may determine that the user does not wear the wearable device 2000.More specifically, when the number of steps of the user measured byusing the built-in sensors for the past 24 hours based on a time pointat which whether the user wears the wearable device 2000 is determinedis less than or equal to a reference number of steps selected from arange of 3,000 to 6,000 steps, the wearable device 2000 may determinethat the user does not wear the wearable device 2000. Alternatively, thewearable device 2000 may record the number of steps of the user in apreset period and specify a time interval in which the recorded numberof steps is less than or equal to a preset number of steps or the numberof steps is zero as a time interval in which the user does not wear thewearable device 2000.

As another example, the wearable device 2000 may determine whether theuser wears the wearable device 2000 in consideration of the user'sbio-signal measured by using a built-in bio-sensor. For example, thewearable device 2000 may determine whether the user wears the wearabledevice 2000 at the time point at which whether the user wears thewearable device 2000 is determined by using a heart rate sensor, atemperature sensor, and/or a biosensor that measures blood pressure, anelectrocardiogram, blood oxygen saturation, etc.

Meanwhile, the medication adherence monitoring system 100 may determinewhether the user wears the wearable device 2000 by using all of theabove-described methods.

The medication adherence monitoring system 100 may temporarily orperiodically determine whether the user wears the wearable device 2000.For example, the wearable device 2000 may determine whether the userwears the wearable device 2000 at each scheduled time point of themedication adherence of the user, once every 24 hours, at a time pointat which the user initiates the medication adherence, or in a presetperiod. Specifically, the wearable device 2000 may determine whether theuser wears the wearable device 2000 on the basis of information aboutthe scheduled time point of the medication adherence of the user whichis pre-stored therein or obtained from the server 3000. Alternatively,the wearable device 2000 may determine whether the user wears thewearable device 2000 at a time point of pairing or connecting with thewireless communication device 1000 or at a time point of receivingactivation data from the wireless communication device 1000. In thiscase, the time point at which the wearable device 2000 is paired orconnected with the wireless communication device 1000 or the time pointat which the wearable device 2000 receives the activation data from thewireless communication device 1000 may be understood as a time point atwhich the user initiates the medication adherence or performs themedication adherence.

The medication adherence monitoring system 100 may provide anotification to a user or the like when it is determined that the userdoes not wear the wearable device 2000. For example, when it isdetermined that the user does not wear the wearable device 2000 whenperforming the medication adherence, the wearable device 2000 or theterminal device 4000 may output a non-wear notification, and when it isdetermined that the user does not wear the wearable device 2000 for apredetermined time, the wearable device 2000 or the terminal device 4000may provide a notification to induce wearing the wearable device 2000 tothe user. In this case, the terminal device 4000 may obtain informationon whether the user wears the wearable device 2000 through the wearabledevice 2000 or the server 3000.

Meanwhile, a method of wearing the wearable device 2000 may be differentfor each person and a field of view of the camera module 2100 of thewearable device 2000 may vary according to the wearing method. Forexample, in the case in which the wearable device 2000 is worn on thewrist, when the wearable device 2000 is normally worn, the shootingdirection of the camera module 2100 may be directed toward the outsideof the user's body or toward the palm, and when the wearable device 2000is incorrectly worn, the shooting direction of the camera module 2100may be directed toward the user's body center or toward the arm, andthus a desired video may not be obtained.

The medication adherence monitoring system 100 may detect whether thewearable device 2000 is incorrectly worn and provide a notification tothe user.

For example, the wearable device 2000 may determine whether the wearabledevice 2000 is incorrectly worn on the basis of a sensed value obtainedby using the built-in sensor. Specifically, the wearable device 2000 mayinclude a gravity sensor and determine whether the wearable device 2000is incorrectly worn using the information about shooting direction ofthe camera module 2100 and the gravity direction obtained by using thegravity sensor.

As another example, the wearable device 2000 may determine whether thewearable device 2000 is incorrectly worn using video data obtainedthrough the camera module 2100. For example, when the user wears thewearable device 2000 or when the wearable device 2000 receives a signalfrom the wireless communication device 1000, the wearable device 2000may obtain a video or an image by using the camera module 2100 and maydetermine whether the wearable device 2000 is incorrectly worn byanalyzing the obtained video or image.

When the wearable device 2000 is incorrectly worn, the medicationadherence monitoring system 100 may provide a notification indicating tothe user that the wearable device 2000 is incorrectly worn or anotification instructing the user to wear the wearable device 2000again.

Hereinafter, a case in which the medication adherence monitoring system100 is used as a digital therapeutic will be described with reference toFIG. 36.

Digital therapeutics may be understood as software programs thatprevent, manage, or treat diseases. The digital therapeutics may beclassified into complementary digital therapeutics that have indirecttreatment effects and are used in conjunction with existing medicines,such as enhancing treatment effects of existing medicines throughmedication management, etc. and alternative digital therapeutics thathave direct and independent treatment effects and directly control auser's action, such as drug addiction treatment applications orcognitive behavioral treatment applications. The medication adherencemonitoring system 100 may serve as a complementary digital therapeuticin that it is used with an existing therapeutic agent and improves theeffect of the existing therapeutic agent, as will be described below.Furthermore, the medication adherence monitoring system 100 may serve asan alternative digital therapeutic in that it induces health improvementof the user by controlling the user's action.

The medication adherence monitoring system 100 may monitor the presenceor absence of side effects due to the medication adherence of the user.

FIG. 36 is a diagram illustrating a method of preventing side effectsusing the medication adherence monitoring system 100 according to theembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 36, the medication adherence monitoring system 100 mayperform a step S7100 of detecting the medication adherence of the user,a step S7200 of obtaining information about the medication which isadhered to by the user, a step S7300 of outputting an inquiry message ata time point at which the occurrence of side effects is expected, a stepS7400 of obtaining biometric information of the user, and a step S7500of determining whether side effects occur on the basis of the user'sresponse to the inquiry message and the biometric information of theuser.

Hereinafter, each operation will be described in detail.

The medication adherence monitoring system 100 may detect the medicationadherence of the user (S7100). As described elsewhere in the presentinvention, the medication adherence monitoring system 100 may determinewhether the user performs the medication adherence by using the wirelesscommunication device 1000, the wearable device 2000, and the server3000. In this case, the wearable device 2000 and/or the server 3000 maystore information such as a type of medication adherence performed bythe user, a time point at which the user performs the medicationadherence, and/or the number of times the medication adherence isperformed.

The medication adherence monitoring system 100 may obtain theinformation about the medication which is adhered to by the user(S7200). For example, the server 3000 may obtain information about sideeffects of the medication adherence performed by the user, the timepoint at which the occurrence of side effects is expected, and/or how tocope with the side effects using pre-stored reference data, and providethe obtained information to the wearable device 2000.

The medication adherence monitoring system 100 may output the inquirymessage to the user at the time point at which the occurrence of sideeffects is expected (S7300). For example, the wearable device 2000 orthe terminal device 4000 may output an inquiry message related to theside effect to the user at the time point at which the occurrence ofside effects is expected on the basis of the information about the sideeffects obtained from the server 3000.

Here, the time point at which the inquiry message is output may be setbased on a time point at which the time point at which the occurrence ofside effects is expected has elapsed from the time point at which theuser performs the medication adherence. Further, the inquiry message maybe temporarily or periodically output at the time point or the timeinterval in which the occurrence of side effects is expected.

In addition, here, the inquiry message may be used to inquire whether anabnormal symptom has occurred, a pain score, and/or whether an expectedsymptom has occurred.

The medication adherence monitoring system 100 may obtain the biometricinformation of the user (S7400). For example, the wearable device 2000may include a pulse sensor for detecting the user's pulse, a temperaturesensor for detecting the user's body temperature, an acceleration sensorfor detecting the user's motion such as shaking of the user's hand orfalling, or a gyro sensor, and may temporarily or periodically obtainthe biometric information of the user. The biometric information of theuser may be temporarily or periodically obtained before and after thetime point at which the side effects are expected or may be periodicallyobtained from the time point at which the user performs the medicationadherence. Meanwhile, the biometric information of the user may includenot only information measured by the sensor or the like, but alsoinformation that may be used to determine the presence or absence ofside effects of medication, such as the user's past medical records orhealth checkup records.

The medication adherence monitoring system 100 may determine whether theside effects occur on the basis of the user's response to the inquirymessage and the biometric information of the user (S7500). For example,the wearable device 2000 may transmit the user's response to the inquirymessage and the biometric information of the user to the server 3000,and the server 3000 may determine the presence or absence of sideeffects of the medication by using the received information.Specifically, the server 3000 may determine the presence or absence ofside effects of the medication by detecting whether the user is falling,whether a hand is shaking, or changes in pulse, heart rate, and bodytemperature. In this case, the server 3000 may determine the presence orabsence of side effects of the medication by using a database of sideeffects or an artificial neural network trained to determine thepresence or absence of side effects.

The medication adherence monitoring system 100 may serve as a digitaltherapeutic by providing a duplicate medication notification to preventthe user from overdosing on the medication.

The medication adherence monitoring system 100 may store pieces ofinformation about the time points when it is determined that the userperforms the medication adherence, may determine whether the user takesduplicate medications whenever the user has attempted to perform themedication adherence or the user performs the medication adherence, andprovide a notification related to the duplicate medications to the useror the like.

Since the content for the medication adherence monitoring system 100 todetermine the possibility of taking duplicate medications or whether totake duplicate medications and provide the notification related to theduplicate medications to the user or the like is described elsewhere inthe present invention, a description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, the medication adherence monitoring system 100 maydetect the side effects due to the medication adherence of the user orprevent the user from taking duplicate medications, and thus it ispossible to determine the suitability of the medication adherence to theuser or to further improve treatment effects of the medication adherenceto the user. As a result, the medication adherence monitoring system 100may serve as a complementary digital therapeutic having indirecttreatment effects.

The medication adherence monitoring system 100 may serve as a digitaltherapeutic by assisting the user's health promotion. For example, thewearable device 2000 may receive information about the medication,biometric information or status information of the user, information onwhether the user performs the medication adherence, or the like from theserver 3000 to provide a health promotion induction notification to theuser.

Here, the health promotion induction notification may be provided inconsideration of the information about the medication that the useradheres to and the status information of the user. For example, thehealth promotion induction notification may include a sleep-inducingnotification or exercise-inducing notification for improving theeffectiveness of the medication that the user adheres to, an adverseaction prevention notification for preventing side effects of themedication or diminished effectiveness, and the like.

As described above, the medication adherence monitoring system 100 mayimprove the user's health by inhibiting or inducing the user's action onthe basis of a result of the medication adherence, which is obtained bydetermining whether the user performs the medication adherence, andinformation about the medication adherence. As a result, the medicationadherence monitoring system 100 may serve as an alternative digitaltherapeutic in that it directly generates an effect of improving theuser's health.

Hereinafter, a medication adherence managing tool to which themedication adherence monitoring system 100 is applied will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 37 to 39.

The medication adherence managing tool may refer to an auxiliary toolfor managing the medication adherence of the user or a platform forinducing the medication adherence (hereinafter, referred to as the“medication adherence managing tool”). In particular, when the usersuffers from forgetfulness or a mental illness such as dementia or whenthe user needs the protection or management of a guardian, the user mayuse the medication adherence managing tool. In this case, theabove-described medication adherence monitoring system 100 may beapplied to the medication adherence managing tool, and a part of theconfiguration or operation method of the medication adherence monitoringsystem 100 may be changed and applied according to the medicationadherence managing tool.

FIGS. 37 to 39 are diagrams illustrating examples of the medicationadherence managing tool according to the embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 37, the medication adherence managing tool may beimplemented as a real-life product in order to induce medicationadherence of the user. For example, the medication adherence managingtool may be implemented in the form of a calendar, and a medicationaccommodating unit for accommodating a medication for each day of weekor for each time period may be disposed. The user may take themedication out of the medication accommodating unit according to the dayof the week or the time period and perform the medication adherence.

Meanwhile, in the case of the medication adherence managing toolillustrated in FIG. 37, there is a problem in that it is difficult todispose the wireless communication device 1000 in applying themedication adherence monitoring system 100. In order to solve such aproblem, a component may be added to the medication adherence managingtool or a shape of the wireless communication device 1000 may be changedas follows.

Referring to FIG. 38, the medication adherence managing tool may itselfperform the function of the wireless communication device 1000 describedabove. In other words, the medication adherence managing tool maydetermine whether it is necessary to shoot a video according to theattempt of the medication adherence of the user and transmit activationdata to the wearable device 2000.

The medication adherence managing tool may include a sensor unit, acommunication unit, and a control unit. For example, the medicationadherence managing tool may detect whether the user approaches themedication accommodating unit using a proximity detection sensordisposed adjacent to the medication accommodating unit and transmit theactivation data instructing activation of the camera module 2100 to thewearable device 2000. Here, the proximity detection sensor may includean infrared sensor, a passive infrared (PIR) sensor, an ultrasonicsensor, an ambient light sensor, or the like.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 39, the medication adherence managing toolmay include a component in which the user's motion is detected by thewireless communication device 1000 when used by the user. For example,the medication adherence managing tool may include a cover that coversthe medication accommodating unit and inevitably moves when used by theuser, and the wireless communication device 1000 may be attached to thecover.

The wireless communication device 1000 may be attached to the cover ofthe medication adherence managing tool to detect movement of the cover.For example, the first control unit 1400 may obtain a motion valuereflecting the movement of the cover using the motion sensor 1110,generate activation data on the basis of the motion value when a motioncondition is satisfied, and transmit the generated activation data tothe wearable device 2000.

In the above, the form in which the medication adherence managing toolis applied to a schedule managing tool similar to a calendar has beenmainly described, but the technological concept of the present inventionis not limited thereto, and the medication adherence monitoring system100 may be applied to any case as long as it is involved in themedication adherence of the user or the induction of the medicationadherence.

Meanwhile, the medication adherence monitoring system 100 may be usedfor monitoring a plurality of users, or a target group (hereinafter,referred to as a “monitoring target”) for specific medication adherence.In this case, the medication adherence monitoring system 100 may providea management service for easier and more efficient monitoring.

The management service may refer to programs or application providedthrough a wearable device 2000, a server 3000, a terminal device 4000,and/or a separate display device in order to manage the medicationadherence of the monitoring target.

The management service may provide the information related to themedication adherence obtained in the medication adherence monitoringsystem 100. To this end, the management service may be implemented witha specific UI/UX design, a graphical user interface (GUI), or the like.

The management service may be provided to the user, medical personnel, aguardian, or a manager. In this case, the management service may beimplemented with different interfaces according to a subject receivingthe management service or the information provided by the managementservice. For example, the management service may include a managerinterface provided to the medical personnel, the guardian, or themanager and a private interface provided to the user.

Hereinafter, the management service will be described in more detailwith reference to FIGS. 40 to 45.

FIGS. 40 to 44 are diagrams illustrating a management service providedto medical personnel, a guardian, or a manager according to anembodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, for convenience ofdescription, the case in which the management service includes a managerinterface output by the server 3000 is mainly described, but thetechnological concept of the present invention is not limited thereto,and, for example, even in the case in which the management service isoutput through the wearable device 2000 or the terminal device 4000, themanagement service may be similarly applied.

The server 3000 may provide the management service. For example, theserver control unit 3400 may output the manager interface through theserver input/output unit 3100. Specifically, the server control unit3400 may display pieces of information about the medication adherence ofthe user on the server input/output unit 3100, as will be describedbelow.

Here, the server input/output unit 3100 may include a server display onwhich information is displayed or output and a server input unit thatreceives an input from the manager or the like. The server control unit3400 may display the information about the medication adherence of theuser, which is stored in the server memory 3200 or obtained from theoutside, on the server display, and may change or add the informationdisplayed on the server display on the basis of the input obtained fromthe server input unit.

Referring to FIG. 40, contents output to the server display may bedivided into a category area A1 and an information display area A2. Thecategory area A1 may be understood as an area for selecting the type ofinformation to be viewed. For example, in the category area A1,“dashboard,” “project,” and “participating member” may be displayed. Theinformation display area A2 may be understood as an area for outputtinginformation about the type selected in the category area A1.Hereinafter, contents that are displayed in the information display areaA2 according to the type of information selected in the category area A1will be described in detail.

Referring to FIG. 40, when “dashboard” is selected in the category areaA1, summary information of the monitoring target may be displayed in theinformation display area A2. For example, in the information displayarea A2, the information obtained by using the medication adherencemonitoring system 100 may be divided into a medication information areaAA1, an emotion information area AA2, and a side effect information areaAA3 and displayed.

In the medication information area AA1, information on whether themonitoring target performs the medication adherence may be displayed.For example, in the medication information area AA1, “date,” “average ofoverall medication compliance” that indicates a degree of medicationadherence of all monitoring targets, “total number of times medicationstaken” that indicates the number of times of medication adherence of allmonitoring targets, “medication compliance graph” that visuallyrepresents medication compliance, and “distribution graph” that visuallyrepresents a distribution of monitoring targets for each medicationcompliance section may be displayed.

In the emotion information area AA2, emotional information input fromthe monitoring target may be displayed. For example, in the emotionalinformation area AA2, “average of overall emotion” and “variance ofoverall emotion” related to emotional levels (e.g., for mood, 5: verygood, 4: good, 3: normal, 2: bad, and 1: very bad) that are periodicallyinput from the monitoring target, and “graph of emotions” that visuallyrepresents the emotional levels may be displayed.

In the side effect information area AA3, information obtained bydetermining the presence or absence of side effects of the monitoringtarget may be displayed. For example, in the side effect informationarea AA3, “total number of side effect inputs” that indicates the numberof side effects of the monitoring target, “average of side effects permember” that indicates the average of the number of times of sideeffects per member of the monitoring target, and “side effect countgraph” that visually represents side effect occurrence information maybe displayed.

The server 3000 may output a screen including the above-described areasA1, A2, AA1, AA2, and AA3 through the server display. Further, theserver 3000 may change the information displayed in the informationdisplay area A2 as will be described below on the basis of an inputreceived from the manager in the category area A1.

Referring to FIG. 41, when “project” is selected in the category areaA1, information about a project in progress using the medicationadherence monitoring system 100 may be displayed in the informationdisplay area A2. For example, in the information display area A2,“project name,” “start period,” “end period,” “code,” “purpose,”“description,” “target disease,” “disease description,” “medicationname,” “number of participants,” “qualifying conditions,”“non-qualifying conditions,” “cautions,” etc. may be displayed.

Meanwhile, a first pop-up button B1 for additionally displayinginformation related to medication adherence performed in the project maybe included in the vicinity of “medication name” displayed in theinformation display area A2. For example, referring to FIGS. 41 and 42,when the pop-up button B1 displayed in the information display area A2is selected, a first pop-up window PU1 for registering information aboutthe medication which is adhered to by the monitoring target or a secondpop-up window PU2 for displaying the information about the medicationwhich is adhered to by the monitoring target may be output.Specifically, in the case in which the server control unit 3400 receivesa manager input for the first pop-up button B1, when information aboutthe medication is not stored in the server memory 3200, the first pop-upwindow PU1 may be displayed on the server display to induce the managerto input the information about the medication, and when the informationabout the medication is stored in the server memory 3200, the secondpop-up window PU2 may be output on the server display on the basis ofthe stored information about the medication.

In the first pop-up window PU1, “product name,” “product code,” “productingredients (in English),” “product ingredients (in native language),”“dosage,” “how to take,” “administration time,” “product descriptions,”etc. may be displayed, and pieces of information corresponding theretomay be input by the manager.

In the second pop-up window PU2, the information about the medicationadherence performed by the monitoring target may be displayed. In thiscase, the information about the medication displayed in the secondpop-up window PU2 may be displayed based on the pieces of informationinput by the manager through the first pop-up window PU1. For example,in the second pop-up window PU2, “medication name,” “dosage,”“medication picture,” “medication adherence time,” “medicationdescription,” etc. may be displayed.

Referring to FIG. 43, when “participating member” is selected in thecategory area A1, information about users participating in the projectin progress using the medication adherence monitoring system 100 may bedisplayed in the information display area A2. For example, in theinformation display area A2, “management number,” “gender,” “age,”“degree of medication process,” “emotional level,” “number of sideeffects,” “pain score,” “participation time,” “status,” and “view”corresponding to each of the users included in the monitoring target maybe displayed. Further, in the information display area A2, a secondpop-up button B2 for viewing the status of each user of the monitoringtarget may be displayed.

Referring to FIG. 44, when the second pop-up button B2 is selected inthe information display area A2, a third pop-up window PU3 on whichspecific information corresponding to each user of the monitoring targetmay be output. In this case, in the third pop-up window PU3, “managementnumber,” “gender,” “age,” “contact number,” “project participationdate,” “membership date,” “device ID,” “GUID,” “medication adherencetime graph by date,” “emotional level graph by day of week,” etc.corresponding to each of the users of the monitoring target may bedisplayed. In this case, the “device ID” may correspond to deviceidentification information of the wearable device 2000 worn by eachuser, and the “GUID” may correspond to a universal unique identifier ofthe wireless communication device 1000 provided to each user.

FIG. 45 is a diagram illustrating a management service provided to auser according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter,the case in which the management service includes a private interfaceprovided to the user through the terminal device 4000 will be mainlydescribed.

The terminal device 4000 may include a display to provide the managementservice, and may include an input unit to receive the user input. Forexample, the terminal device 4000 may display pieces of information tobe described below on the display, and may change or add the informationdisplayed on the display on the basis of the user input obtained fromthe input unit.

Referring to FIG. 45, contents output to the terminal device 4000 may bedivided into a category area A1 and an information display area A2. Thecategory area A1 may be understood as an area for selecting a type ofinformation to be viewed. For example, in the category area A1, “myinformation,” “today's status,” and “detailed view” may be displayed.The information display area A2 may be understood as an area foroutputting information about the type selected in the category area A1.Hereinafter, contents, which are displayed in the information displayarea A2 according to the type of information selected in the categoryarea A1, will be described in detail.

When “my information” is selected in the category area A1, informationabout the user may be displayed in the information display area A2. Forexample, referring to FIG. 45, in the information display area A2,“management number,” “gender,” “age,” “contact number,” “clinicalparticipation date,” “membership date,” and “device ID” corresponding tothe user may be displayed. In this case, the “device ID” may correspondto device identification information of the wearable device 2000 worn bythe user.

When “today's status,” is selected in the category area A1, informationabout events occurring to the user by date may be displayed in theinformation display area A2. For example, referring to FIG. 45, in theinformation display area A2, a calendar, on which the number of eventsoccurring by date is displayed, and information about the eventsoccurring by date may be displayed. In this case, when a date isselected by the user on the calendar, information about eventscorresponding to the selected date may be displayed.

Here, the events may refer to events that may occur as the user performsthe medication adherence. For example, the events may include projectand/or clinical initiation, issuing a medication prescription,performing medication adherence, not performing medication adherence,checking user status, occurring side effects due to medicationadherence, stopping medication adherence, changing medication adherence,consultation with experts related to medication adherence, terminationof medication adherence, and the like.

In this case, the event displayed in the information display area A2 maybe displayed on the basis of the information obtained by the terminaldevice 4000 through the user input or the information obtained from thewireless communication device 1000, the wearable device 2000, and/or theserver 3000. As an example, as described above, the wearable device 2000may transmit, to the terminal device 4000, the information about thepresence or absence of side effects obtained by determining the presenceor absence of side effects using the user's biometric information or theuser input, and the terminal device 4000 may display the event relatedto the side effects in the information display area A2 on the basis ofthe received information about the presence or absence of the sideeffects. As another example, the server 3000 may determine whether theuser performs the medication adherence using the video data obtainedfrom the wearable device 2000 and transmit information on whether themedication adherence is performed to the terminal device 4000, and theterminal device 4000 may display an event of performing the medicationadherence or an event of not performing the medication adherence in theinformation display area A2 on the basis of the received information onwhether the medication adherence is performed.

When “detailed view” is selected in the category area A1, specificinformation related to the medication adherence of the user may bedisplayed in the information display area A2. For example, referring toFIG. 45, in the information display area A2, a status of the medicationadherence of the user by date and time may be displayed. Specifically,the terminal device 4000 may display in the form of a graph or a tablein the information display area A2 on the basis of the informationrelated to the medication adherence of the user obtained from the server3000.

Here, the information related to the medication adherence of the usermay include information on whether the user performs the medicationadherence, information about the medication that the user intends toadhere to, information about a time point at which the user performs themedication, and the like. In this case, the information about the timepoint at which the user performs the medication may include informationindicating a time point at which the wearable device 2000 obtains theactivation data from the wireless communication device 1000, a timepoint at which the camera module 2100 of the wearable device 2000 isactivated, a time point at which the camera module 2100 is deactivated,a time point selected in a time interval between the above-describedtime points, or the like.

Meanwhile, the terminal device 4000 may display the status of themedication adherence of the user in the information display area A2 byusing the plurality of pieces of information related to the medicationadherence. For example, when the user receives a prescription for afirst medication and a second medication and performs medicationadherence, the terminal device 4000 may obtain information related tofirst medication adherence for the first medication and informationrelated to second medication adherence for the second medication fromthe server 3000, and display a status of the first medication adherenceand a status of the second medication adherence of the user by time andby date in the information display area A2 on the basis of the obtainedinformation. In this case, the information related to the firstmedication adherence and the information related to the secondmedication adherence may be visually distinguished in different shapesor colors and displayed. Here, the information related to the medicationadherence is not necessarily the information related to the medication,and may be the information about the health management action describedwith reference to with reference to FIG. 30, such as an action of usingan inhaler or an action of measuring blood glucose.

In the above, the case in which the management service is displayed withthe private interface through the terminal device 4000 and provided tothe user has been mainly described, but the technological concept of thepresent invention is not limited thereto, and the management service maybe displayed on the wearable device 2000 worn by the user and providedto the user, or may be displayed through the terminal device 4000 andprovided to medical personnel, a guardian, a manager or the like.

Features, structures, and effects described in the above-describedexemplary embodiments are included in at least one exemplary embodimentof the present invention but are not limited to only one exemplaryembodiment. Further, features, structures, and effects exemplified ineach exemplary embodiment may be embodied by being combined with anotherexemplary embodiment or modified by those skilled in the art. It shouldbe interpreted that the combined and modified contents are included inthe scope of the present invention.

While the present invention has been particularly described withreference to embodiments, the embodiments are only exemplary embodimentsof the present invention and the present invention is not intended to belimited thereto. It will be understood by those skilled in the art thatmodifications and applications in other forms may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present invention. That is,each component specifically shown in the embodiments may be modified andembodied. In addition, it should be understood that differences relatedto these modifications and applications are within the scope of thepresent invention as defined in the appended claims.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   -   100: MEDICATION ADHERENCE MONITORING SYSTEM    -   1000: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICE    -   2000: WEARABLE DEVICE    -   3000: SERVER    -   4000: TERMINAL DEVICE

What is claimed is:
 1. A wearable electronic device, including: acamera; a communication circuit; and at least one processor configuredto: establish, through the communication circuit, a communicationconnection with an external electronic device positioned within aspecific distance from the wearable electronic device at a first timepoint, receive, through the communication circuit, a data for anactivation of the camera from the external electronic device at a secondtime point after the first time point, obtain a received signal strengthindicator (RSSI) value corresponding to the second time point in whichthe data is received, wherein the RSSI value is related to a distancebetween the wearable electronic device, and/or the external electronicdevice and an environment around the wearable electronic device, basedon the RSSI value being included in a specific range, activate thecamera to capture at least one image based on the data, and based on theRSSI value being out of the specific range, disregard the data so thatthe camera is not activated.
 2. The wearable electronic device of claim1, wherein the at least one processor configured to: receive a signalincluding the data for the activation of the camera at the second timepoint.
 3. The wearable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the atleast one processor is further configured to: refrain from activatingthe camera when a RSSI of a signal received from the external electronicdevice at a third time point between the first time point and the secondtime point is not included in the specific range.
 4. The wearableelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the specific range is a range morethan −100 dBm.
 5. The wearable electronic device of claim 1, wherein thespecific range is a range more than −80 dBm.
 6. The wearable electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein the specific range is more than a thresholdvalue, and wherein the threshold value is capable of being set from arange more than −120 dBm and not more than −60 dBm.
 7. The wearableelectronic device of claim 6, wherein the threshold value is capable ofbeing set from a range more than −100 dBm and not more than −80 dBm. 8.The wearable electronic device of claim 2, wherein the specific range ismore than a threshold value, and wherein the threshold value is setbased on a RSSI of the signal received from the external electronicdevice, when the distance between the wearable electronic device and theexternal electronic device is within a specific distance.
 9. Thewearable electronic device of claim 8, wherein the specific distance isnot more than 100 cm.
 10. The wearable electronic device of claim 8,wherein the specific distance is not more than 70 cm.
 11. The wearableelectronic device of claim 8, wherein the specific distance is not morethan 20 cm.
 12. A system including: an wireless electronic deviceincluding a motion sensor, a first communication circuit, and at leastone first processor; and an wearable electronic device including acamera, a second communication circuit, and at least one secondprocessor, wherein the at least one first processor is configured to:establish, through the first communication circuit, a communicationbetween the wireless electronic device and the wearable electronicdevice, obtain a data for an activation of the camera based on a motionvalue obtained using the motion sensor, and transmit, through the firstcommunication circuit, the data for the activation of the camera to thewearable electronic device, wherein the at least one second processor isconfigured to: receive, through the second communication circuit, thedata for the activation of the camera from the wireless electronicdevice, obtain a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) valuecorresponding to a time point in which the data is received, wherein theRSSI value is related to a distance between the wearable electronicdevice and the external electronic device, and/or an environment aroundthe wearable electronic device, based on the RSSI value being includedin a specific range, activate the camera to capture at least one imagebased on the data, and based on the RSSI value being out of the specificrange, disregard the data so that the camera is not activated.